


The Weasley Effect

by QuintessentialCat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Canon Compliant, F/M, Hogwarts First Year, Slytherin Ron Weasley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-04-26 11:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5002396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuintessentialCat/pseuds/QuintessentialCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ron Weasley was the youngest son, but not the youngest child. He was just another Weasley. Until he wasn't. </p><p>This is the story of the Slytherin house and how if given a chance from the beginning, the Slytherins could have had a much different story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not Hufflepuff

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own these characters, setting, or any of the magical world that my heart desires. I unfortunately defer all ownership to J.K. Rowling and praise at her feet daily for what she has brought into this world. I apologize to her kind soul for borrowing and mutilating her work, but she painted such a world that I could not leave it alone without exploring it more.

The Sorting Hat sat upon its throne. His small steps and quick breath sounded loud compared to the quiet which overtook the room. Every word he ever heard about Hogwarts and its houses threatened to swallow him whole.

            Ron Weasley wanted desperately to achieve all that his brothers managed to and more. He needed to achieve more than any other Weasley. The youngest son but not the youngest child, his unique spot in the house disappeared before it even fermented properly.

            The small red haired boy struggled to settle on the chair. _I can’t end up in Hufflepuff_ , Ron shivered at the thought. Fred and George teased him endlessly as things currently stood. His eyes scanned over the tables, taking in each group of students. Ravenclaw wouldn’t be so bad. _In fact_ , his mind wondered as he waited for the hat to find its place upon his head, _it might really stop Fred and George and everyone else from acting like I’m an idiot._ Ron thought of the bushy haired girl from the train, how stupid he felt when the spell didn’t work. _Definitely not Hufflepuff_ , Ron grimaced. Really, underneath the surface of his uncertain mind, Ron Weasley wished to be Gryffindor. His family's pride with each new Gryffindor son grew more and more evident as Ron grew older. Deeper than that, Ron knew his position as just another Weasley cemented as soon as the hat called Gryffindor. What’s another red-haired Weasley in Gryffindor?

            The hat finally met his head. The hat hummed, and Ron’s hands shook. He felt so uncertain about his place in Hogwarts sitting there, staring out at all those students. His eyes caught sight of Harry Potter, who already proved to be someone Ron wanted as friends. Imagine Ronald Weasley friends with the boy who lived!

            “Well, another Weasley. Full of courage as always, but there’s something else here. Something different,” the Sorting Hat mused in his ear. _Gryffindor it is then,_ Ron thought with a sigh, _but at least it isn’t-_

            “SLYTHERIN!!!” The Hat shouted without any further consideration. Jaws dropped on the red-haired boys in the room, as well as all those acquainted with them, even as cheers erupted from the green shrouded table.

            “There m-must be a m-mistake,” Ron stuttered.

            “The Sorting Hat never makes mistakes. Off you go, Mr. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall said, grasping the hat off his head. Ron lost all sense of self as he stumbled off the stool. The Weasley twins gaped as their younger brother, paled to a faint white, made his way to his house table. It made no sense; all Weasleys, even Percy, sorted into Gryffindor. How could the youngest brother not? Ron took the seat next to the infamous Malfoy, whose showed glee at the turn of events.

            “Well, it looks like there might be a decent Weasley after all,” Draco whispered. Ron’s eyes contacted with the ice blue eyes next to him, and his face screwed in disgust.

            “Funny, I still have yet to see a decent Malfoy.” Draco’s eyes narrowed, but he turned back to clap for Blaise Zabini’s sorting into Slytherin. 


	2. Being Slytherin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In another situation, Ron might not have ever talked to the Slytherins.  
> But he's in Slytherin, against everyone's expectations.  
> Yet, his bloodline is still Gryfindor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the characters, setting, or anything in my story. J.K. Rowling is the sole owner of the beauty that is these characters. I'm just playing with them.  
> ***  
> So you know that awkward moment when you really want to post another chapter but you don't want your coworkers asking questions about what you are doing?
> 
> Then your manager is sitting next to you instead, so you really can't post a chapter.  
> Then two weeks pass by and you're crying inside.
> 
> That's my life.

Blaise Zabini took his seat across Ron Weasley as Dumbledore bid them all to eat. Food quickly filled their plates, then their mouths, then their stomaches.   
“So where is the muggle in all your lineages?” Draco Malfoy asked around the table. All the first years stared warily at their peer. Tension rose until a green vegetable flew through the air and stuck to Draco’s pale cheek. A hand swiped it off even as blue eyes glared at where it came from.  
“Bugger off. It doesn’t matter,” Ron snapped. Draco opened his mouth for a retort but was beat to the punch.  
“The Weasley is right, it doesn’t matter. You’re all Slytherin, so you’re all in this together,” An older girl on the other side of the table next to Draco said. “Gemma Farley.”   
“You’re not a pure-blood,” Draco accused.  
“No, most Slytherins aren’t,” Gemma held her head high, looking down her nose at Draco.  
“My father told me-“   
“Your father has not been in school for many years. The majority of us are half-bloods somewhere down the line. I have a witch and wizard for parents, but my mother had a muggle for a parent. You should know with your knowledge of pure-bloods that there aren’t enough to fill all of Slytherin. It matters who you know, not what you are. Move on,” she commanded. Silence once again fell. Ron glanced back at the Gryffindor table. Harry was laughing along with a chubby boy. They looked like they were having loads more fun than Ron was having. Ron fixated on his food, lost in thought. He almost missed it when the ghosts entered the room. Ron stared with wide-eyes as a ghost with silvery blood all over him floated their way.   
“New students,” a deep voice emanated from the transparent form which now stood behind Pansy Parkinson on the other side of Gemma. Pansy looked incredibly uncomfortable at this turn of events.  
“Who are you?” Ron exclaimed before he thought. The stoic face turned his way.  
“I am the Slytherin Ghost, the Bloody Baron.”   
“Why are you so bloody?” Ron’s mouth literally refused to stop. The stoic face seemed to glare at him. Silence fell, all the table wanted to hear the answer. No one else felt brave enough to ask.  
“Weasley are you? Your family is usually in Gryffindor,” the Bloody Baron mentioned. Ron blushed. Those words felt like an accusation. “That happens occasionally I’ve seen. A member of a family falls into a different house. Your blood is still the same though.” Then the Bloody Baron floated down the table. A collective breathe let out around Ron.  
“I can’t believe you just asked that,” Blaise Zabini spoke up. Ron brightened in color.  
“He didn’t even answer my question,” Ron mumbled, glancing down at his plate.  
“Why is he all bloody?” A young girl, another witch Ron recognized vaguely, some kind flower.   
“No one has ever asked before that I know, but apparently he’s not too keen to say,” Gemma replied, giving Ron an odd look of study.  
“Pansy Parkinson, right?” Draco piped up, not liking the limelight off of himself. The little girl wore a face too old for her body and with that face, she nodded.  
“Wait, you’re parents are famous. Your mom is…” Ron exclaimed, finding where he knew her from.  
“Editor of Witch’s Weekend,” Pansy filled in, excited to have someone recognize her.  
“Mum’s a huge fan,” Ron told her.  
“So is mine,” Blaise added in, “Wow, she’s known for leading witch fashion.” He stared at the young girl as though she represented witch’s fashion.   
“I think you came to a party of my parents once,” Draco mused.   
“Yes, at the Malfoy Manor. It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in,” Pansy grinned.   
“The Malfoy Manor is one of the oldest homes in the wizarding world,” another girl joined in.   
“The Greengrass house is nothing to ignore either,” Draco grinned at the girl, who Ron realized must be Daphne Greengrass. Ron frowned at all the purebloods who clearly knew each other. The Weasley family remained excluded from many society events due to their blood traitor status. The Greengrass, like the Malfoys, held a special status for preferring blood purity. Ron never heard much about blood purity, except when his dad complained of someone like Mr. Malfoy’s actions or the society life followed by his mother of someone like Mrs. Greengrass. As he sat there at the Slytherin table, Ron suddenly felt extremely out of place. Despite his pureblood status, he knew he lacked part of the life many of these other purebloods led. What must it have been like going to parties at places like the infamous Malfoy Manor. As Ron’s mind drifted away from the conversation at the table, his eyes began to feel heavy. Luckily, right as they felt heaviest, Dumbledore called the feast to a close. Ron struggled up with the rest of the first years, all of them exchanging looks of confusion.  
“Right here, first years, you’ll be following me and Marcus,” Gemma spoke up, smiling kindly at their wide-eyed looks of loss. Marcus yawned, standing formidably and casually all at once next to his fellow Prefect. Ron glanced over at the Gryffindor table, where he saw Percy leading Harry and the other Gryffindor first years out. His heart swelled with a bit of sadness that he would never be able to see the Gryffindor common room that his brothers always spoke of. He followed the group of Slytherin first years. They traversed the hallways, moving down into the depths of the castle. They finally came to a plain stonewall at the end of the hall. Ron blinked, as did the rest of the first years, their tired brain working to catch up.   
“You should stand at the wall, and speak the password. Promise for the future. It changes once a fortnight and you should check the notice board,” Gemma explained as she ushered the younger students in, “The boy’s room is behind the tapestry of Merlin, the girl’s room lies behind Angele de la Barthe.” Draco led the boys into the room, Vincent and Greg following, with Ron, Blaise, and Theodore Nott bringing up the rear. The dorm room may have contained the whole first floor of the Burrow. Regal as the common room, chilled just enough to not be uncomfortable. A rectangular room with three beds on either side, with wardrobes and trunks framing the beds. One large window took up the whole wall opposite the door. Draco took the bed closet the window on one side; Vincent and Greg taking the beds on the same side as Draco. Ron reached the bed furthest on the other, Blaise taking the middle, and Theodore Nott taking the last one.   
“I thought we were underground,” Vincent stared at the window.  
“It’s enchanted. We can change the view, too.” Draco informed patiently. This spiked Ron’s interest right as he was about to lay down.   
“Really?” He took in front of the window, which currently looked out on the lake outside, the dark night only highlighting the moon shining off the lake. Draco joined Ron and Vincent in front of it, tapping his wand on it and loudly proclaiming, “Quidditch Field.” The scene changed, still night, but now over the field. Ron quickly followed, “Great Hall.” An empty hall filled the window, the candles out, so the room distinctly dark. Vincent requested, “Kitchen.” The scene changed. Soon Greg, Theodore, and Blaise joined in, all of them testing the limits. They soon found other dorm rooms were off limits as well as the common rooms of the other Houses. Classrooms, but not professor offices, shown through the window. The boys wasted away their ideas on what to try after finding it didn’t show anything outside the castle. The chatter quieting, slowly each fell asleep. The next morning, Ron woke up nervous for his first day of classes. As he and Blaise made his way to the Great Hall, they tried to piece together what little they knew about classes at Hogwarts. Altogether, it wasn’t a lot that seemed reliable. Ron distrusted anything Fred and George told him, and Blaise only had a younger sister. When they finally found their way to the Great Hall- largely thanks to Blaise- Ron stopped at the end of the tables. His eyes found where Harry sat next to the bushy-haired Hermione and the chubby boy- Neville?   
“Go ahead and save me a seat, I’m going to go say hi to someone,” then he quickly left before Blaise could ask him any questions. Ron worried that Harry would reject him now that he knew Ron was a Slytherin, especially after what Ron told him about the House. He didn’t want to have to worry about Blaise seeing, and he worried Blaise would want to meet the famous boy. As he neared Harry, Fred and George caught sight of him.   
“Oh, no! Everyone look out! It’s Icky Ronny-kins, the big bad Slytherin, come to jinx all of us away!” Fred yelled, causing everyone around to set their eyes on the small boy. The bright red of his face matched his hair.   
“Shut up,” he muttered. Harry, along with everyone else around him, stared.  
“I can’t believe we had a Slytherin under our roof this whole time and never knew! We could have died!” George lamented theatrically.  
“How do we know you didn’t do some dark magic on us?”   
“He’s not that smart, George, you know that.”  
“That’s true. The Sorting Hat probably did us a favor.”  
“Yeah, it did. Someone that evil-“  
“Shut it!” Ron said more loudly, then turning and walking the rest of the way to Harry, whose mouth stood open.  
“Oh, Ronald,” George cried. Ron glanced back. “We sent a letter to mum so you wouldn’t have to! I bet she’ll be ecstatic!” Then both twins started cracking up as they imagined their mother’s face when she read that her youngest boy was sorted into Slytherin. Ron finally made it to Harry, his face still wearing bright red decorations.  
“Hey!” Ron greeted nervously, feeling uncomfortable and regretted his decision to come over there in the first place. He couldn’t just turn back after his brothers made fun of him though, then he’d never be able to face Harry, much less his brothers.  
“Hello!” Harry greeted, a smile on his face. Ron immediately felt relief that Harry wasn’t immediately put off by his presence.  
“You’re Percy’s youngest brother!” Hermione stated as though discovering something new. Ron frowned.  
“Yes, so what?”   
“So, he was really upset when you were sorted into Slytherin,” Hermione replied as though this was obvious. “I did not know everyone took the sorting so seriously. I knew it was important, but the books do not say anything about families often being sorted into the same house. I suppose it makes sense, though.”  
“Yeah, it’s pretty typical for families to run through the same houses.” Ron then blatantly turned to Harry. “How’s the Gryffindor common room?”   
“Amazing. We are in one of the towers and-“   
“I do not think you are supposed to tell other Houses where our dormitory is, Harry,” Hermione cut in.   
“It’s just Ron. He has brothers in Gryffindor. Anyways, it’s really nice and cozy. Lots of red and gold. How is Slytherin’s common room?” Harry asked. Ron chose his next words pointedly for Hermione, who he already knew he didn’t like.  
“It’s in the dungeons, which sound bad, but it doesn’t feel like it is in the dungeons,” Ron told Harry.  
“Is it true you have an enchanted window in your dormitory that allows you to see almost anywhere around Hogwarts?” Hermione once again butted in.  
“What? How do you know that?” Ron asked, shocked that she knew such an intimate detail about the Slytherin dormitory, especially after she told Harry not to discuss common rooms with him.   
“It’s in ‘Hogwarts, A History,’” Hermione replied with pride.   
“Of course. Do you know what classes you have yet?” Ron asked, once again pointedly at Harry.  
“No, but it looks like Professor McGonagall is handing them out now,” Harry said, glancing past Ron down the aisle between tables. Ron saw Harry to be right, as well as noticing Professor Snape, the Slytherin Head of House walking down the Slytherin table. He really did not like the look of Professor Snape. Not to mention, Fred and George always complained about him.  
“I should get over there. I hope we have some classes together. Maybe after classes, we can meet up?” Ron asked, once again his nerves getting to him.  
“I’ll stop by after I get my schedule,” Harry gave him a smile which comforted Ron’s worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> I enjoyed writing it and exploring the reactions and personalities of various characters. I really look forward to discovering some more of the Slytherins that Ron will meet, and finding out his relationship with them.
> 
> I aim to post in the next couple days, before next weekend. Send me hardwork fairies so I can manage it!!!


	3. Making Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron stands in an awkward space.  
> He's a Slytherin.  
> Who spends times with Gryffindor.   
> But honestly, he doesn't hate either house. 
> 
> Just some of the people in those houses.
> 
> And unfortunately, Ron tends to speak without thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I don't know about you, but I had an excellent Halloween. 
> 
> Haunted Houses.
> 
> Trick or Treating.
> 
> Dressing up (Johnny Depp Mad Hatter).
> 
> Oh, not to mention Horror Movies!!!
> 
> All my favorite things.
> 
> That is beside fanfiction. So here I am! I hope you enjoy this installment!

Ron trekked off to his own table. He found Blaise sitting by Draco and the rest of the boys.

“Why were you talking to Gryffindors?” Draco snapped as Ron sat down. “Are you a house traitor as well as a blood traitor?” Ron glared in response. 

“Who was that you were talking to?” Blaise asked, realizing Draco’s tactic wouldn’t get any answer from the red-head.

“Harry Potter,” Ron couldn’t help but let out a grin. He felt it so surreal that he was actually friends with him. 

“Wow. How do you know him?” Blaise craned his neck to see the black-haired boy.

“I met him on the train. Did you know he was raised by muggles? Didn’t even know he was a wizard until recently.” Ron told him.

“Who would make someone as famous as Harry Potter live with muggles?” Draco let out a noise of disgust. 

“Nobody was talking to you. I’m going to hang out with him later, you should come, Blaise,” Ron said. Draco clearly found Ron’s response unsatisfactory as he huffed angrily and stabbed at his food. 

“Clearly, someone is trying to ride the coat tails of someone else’s fame,” Draco told Vincent and Greg loudly. They laughed. 

“Just because you don’t have any real friends, doesn’t mean I can’t.” Ron snapped back.

“Are there problems, gentlemen?” Professor Snape said from behind the two boys. Ron’s face turned red, while Draco’s only hinted pink. They turned to face their professor.

“No, sir,” they said in unison. Professor Snape nodded, then looked down at the names on the schedules.

“Well, Ronald Weasley. What a surprise. I do hope you prove to be better students then your brothers.” Ron snatched his schedule out of the air where it floated before him. The rest of the boys received their schedules. Charms, Transfiguration,… Ron had no idea what most of these even meant. When he asked Blaise, his friend only had guesses. As they started to theorize more, Harry, Neville, and Hermione showed up behind them. 

“Blaise, this is Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, and Hermione Granger,” Ron introduced everyone, “Everyone, Blaise Zabini.” Hellos were muttered before Harry showed Ron his schedule. They were excited to have Potions and Flying lessons together. The pair found their shared free times. Hermione and Blaise chattered about something, Ron didn’t catch what. Neville shifted from foot to foot, eyes skittering around the Slytherins. To Blaise’s credit, as excited as he initially seemed about Harry, he seemed subdued now. On the topic of flying lessons, Ron finally brought Neville into the discussion.

“Neville, have you ever flown before?” Ron asked. 

“N-no,” Neville blushed slightly, “Gran thought I would hurt myself for sure.” To his grandmother’s credit, Ron saw Neville trip over his own feet earlier.

“She likely would have done herself some good if she had let you try to fly,” a voice drawled on behind Ron. Ron glared before he even confirmed his suspicions of who the voice belonged to. “Now, I’ve been flying since I could walk. I think those of us who know how to fly already should be exempt from lessons,” Draco bragged. Ron watched as Harry’s eyes went downward, avoiding the Slytherin’s gaze. 

“Yeah, I’ll laugh when you’re the first one to fall off your broomstick,” Ron quipped. Draco glared back.

“And I most likely fall off because I am laughing too hard after watching you injure yourself before you even leave the ground.” The two boys glared at each other, those around them silent in anticipation.

“Hey, Draco, why’d you come over here, anyways?” Blaise asked, nimbly cutting through the tension. 

“Just figured I would see what all the fuss was about. I can see now that it was just a weasel trying to grab a glimpse of fame,” Draco then turned around and marched off to where Vincent and Greg stood at the doors. Ron blinked several times; his face slightly red from having it said in front of Harry.

“Well, he is not very nice, is he?” Hermione stated, nose upturned in the direction Draco left.

“I bet he’s all talk about flying,” Harry grinned, “I bet he cries when his feet leaves the ground.” Ron looked down at his new friend and grinned back. Harry clearly paid no attention to what Draco said, so Ron would have to do the same. Talk returned and laughter attended until they all had to split to go to class.  
***  
Ron Weasley felt surprised anew at every new subject he learned off. He right away wanted to learn everything, but he found even the most simple of tasks difficult. Ron always assumed that growing up in an all wizard family, magic would come easy to him. This turned out far from true. His only comfort was that some of his peers seemed to find it just as difficult. Vince and Greg seemed particularly terrible at everything. Luckily, Blaise turned out to be a relatively fast learner and would help Ron the best he could when he got down a spell before Ron. Unfortunately, Draco usually figured out spells before even Blaise, and he let everyone know it. Teachers, for the most part, seemed to tolerate the boisterous attitude of the Malfoy child. Some, with barely contained annoyance, others with pandering easiness.

Ron Weasley, meanwhile, found himself constantly compared with his brothers. 

“Well, at least you take it more seriously than the twins,” Professor McGonagall said.

“Your brother, Percy, struggled at first as well, but he caught on quickly enough,” Professor Flick assured. 

“Another Weasley,” Professor Binns droned. It felt every teacher found some way to consider him “another Weasley.” It frustrated Ron even more, since clearly, being in Slytherin made him not just another Weasley. Not to mention, even as they considered him yet another Weasley, the way they looked and acted toward him felt…. Cautious. As though, because he was Slytherin, he might suddenly grow horns and sharp teeth. Yet, Ron was unsure this was a simply something he felt. He watched some as his teachers reacted to his fellow Slytherins versus their interactions with other houses. For most of the faculty, an edge appeared with the Slytherins. Slightly less tolerant of antics, and stricter all around. Not all professors of course. Professor McGonagall appeared to even give her own house a hard time. But for the most part, the only one who seemed to treat the Slytherins favorably remained their head of house, Professor Snape. 

The time Ron most enjoyed, when he felt a slight escape from the lens every teacher seemed predisposed to wear, was when he found time to spend with Harry. Whenever they all had a free period, Ron and Blaise met with Harry, who most often spent his time with Neville. Sometimes they found their way to the library or since it was still nice outside, they found a spot beneath a tree to sit to study. Neville appeared unbearably shy most of the time to Ron. Yet Ron found that if he instigated a conversation, Neville would hesitantly talk with the Slytherins. 

Draco, meanwhile, and his two goons found every chance they could to throw insults at Harry and Neville when they were alone. Draco appeared timid when it came to attacking his own housemates directly, a nod to the indoctrination Mr. Malfoy gave to his son about house loyalty in Hogwarts. However, this simply meant that all of Draco’s hostility went to Harry and Neville. Harry handled it fairly well, throwing back insults. So used to Dudley and his goons, Draco simply gave Harry a challenge, since Harry had grown used to Dudley not being able to reply to his wittier insults. Neville, on the other hand, took the insults deeply and froze when the three Slytherins came near. 

Needless to say, flying lessons with the Slytherins terrified Neville even more than just having to learn to fly- which already terrified him a great deal. Draco’s reaction surprised neither Harry, nor Ron and Blaise, both of whom had been kept up to date on Draco’s bullying. When Draco found the remembrall, the only thing that surprised Ron was Harry’s response. Ron wanted badly to back Harry, but he failed to find the words in time. He hadn’t needed to really stand up to Draco since that first day, and he hardly wanted to make Harry feel like Ron didn’t think he could handle it. Then, before he knew it, Harry shot up in the air after Draco. By then, his mouth fell open and he wanted to cheer for his friend, but his friend’s skill at flying flabbergasted him. Apparently some magic was natural. He only regretted that no words came to his mouth even more when McGonagall dragged Harry off into the castle. He felt a storm rise up inside of him too late. He hadn’t felt injustice for Neville, but for Harry, he already felt a close bond for. So when the lesson was dismissed by a hurrying Madam Hooch, Ron corned Draco in the hallway to their next class as soon as they were out of their teacher’s sight. 

“What is your problem?” Ron yelled, blocking Draco from going anywhere. Blaise, Vince, and Greg stood side by side behind Ron, all clearly shocked and unsure what to do. Blaise shifted from feet to feet. Vince and Greg just staring at Draco waiting for some indication from him. Draco, meanwhile, looked downright horrified at the sudden turn. The two Slytherins largely had been ignoring each other since the first day, so the sudden change to open hostility left Draco speechless. Draco gathered himself back up, standing up straight once again from the defensive pose he temporarily held himself in. 

“Well, currently, you are standing in my way,” Draco replied with a degree of snark not appropriate for the fear which glowed from his face only moments ago.

“You’re pathetic, you know that? Making fun of someone who is weaker than you! Do you think it makes you tough? Do you think bullying Neville will make others impressed with you? Because let me tell you, it just makes you weak!” Several others began collecting to watch the scene unfold, including Daphne, Pansy, Theodore, and several Gryffindors, none of whom Ron could recall who they were. Draco’s mouth stood in a straight line; his cheeks filled with a pink texture. 

“Do not blame me for stating the obvious. I am just the only one brave enough to point out what a big joke Longbottom is,” Draco defended himself drily. Holding his eyes steady to not let his embarrassment become apparent to the crowd.

“No, you’re just the only one pathetic enough to say it. What did Neville ever do to you? Nothing. That’s what. Get over yourself. No one likes you anyways, so stop trying to act like you’re better than everyone,” Ron pointed his wand threateningly at Draco, the thought never crossing either of their minds that Ron didn’t know any spells to cast against him. 

“Longbottom existed. He’s a disgrace to all purebloods,” Draco squeaked, finally taking his eyes off Ron to look on Vince and Greg for help. They stared on, not knowing what Draco wanted them to do. 

“You and your father are a disgrace to purebloods. Everyone knows that your dad was a Death Eater. A murderer.” Ron spit at the blonde, then suddenly his anger overflowed and he pushed Draco hard against the wall. Draco stumbled, but Ron already turned and walked away. Blaise quietly walked behind him, leaving the scene for the rest of the Slytherins and Gryffindors to figure out. 

The hostility became more open after that, but most of it still was aimed at Neville and Harry from Draco’s side, but Ron never held back his own hostility from then on. He freely showed his disgust with his dorm mate. At least for now.   
***  
Later that evening, Ron walked over to the Gryffindor table, scared for Harry’s reaction. However, the reaction he received shocked him completely. There sitting at the Gryffindor table, Harry grinned the largest grin Ron had seen on Harry since he had been sorted in Gryffindor. 

“I have some news that I need to tell you!” Harry told Ron. “After dinner, meet me in the hospital ward and bring Blaise. That way I can tell you two and Neville all at once!” Ron nodded, too surprised for any words. He ate dinner faster than ever before and quickly, with the help of Blaise, found the hospital ward. Harry followed them shortly after and launched into his tale without any introduction. He started from the moment he was dragged off the field by Professor McGonagall. His face animated the narrative as his three friends appropriately responded with gasps and whoops. He gave insight into what he thought was happening, which made all the boys laugh. When he finally got to the part where McGonagall said “I found you a seeker,” all three boys, being from wizarding backgrounds, cheered loudly, causing Madam Pomfrey to come in to scold all of them. Harry finished up his story, and all three of the boys began talking at once. However, their voices were drown out by another. 

“Harry, Professor McGonagall asked you not to tell!” Hermione stood in the doorway holding a handful of books and scrolls, with one hip out as though to scold Harry without even saying anything.

“What is she doing here?” Ron asked rudely. Hermione ignored him and plopped the books down on Neville’s end table. 

“I brought you your homework. I wrote down all the directions on here,” She held up a scroll with tiny handwriting on it. 

“They won’t say anything,” Harry assured Hermione, who frowned at him nevertheless. Ron felt comforted by Harry’s confident assertion of his trust of them. 

“You’re the one who he shouldn’t have told,” Ron snidely remarked. Harry looked uncomfortably between the red head and the bushy haired girl. She apparently indifferent to the insult. 

“You should be more careful. Slytherins are supposed to be the sworn enemies of Gryffindor.” Hermione stated, clearly having read it from a book. 

“Let me guess, you read that out of a book, too. Oh which, by the way, don’t you have some book to read rather than wasting our time,” Ron snapped, really trying to get a rise out of her. Hermione gazed at him, her jaw clenching ever so slightly. Hermione irritated him endlessly. She didn’t quite spend all her time with Harry and Neville, but she definitely spent a good amount of time with them. Which meant Ron had to spend time with her. It was one thing for her to just be a know-it-all, it was another to imply that he and Blaise were untrustworthy. He couldn’t not fathom why Harry spent time with her. Neville was tolerable, but Hermione was just a straight up annoyance. 

“It might do you some good to read a little,” Hermione finally snipped back, placing both hands on her hips. 

“Sorry, I actually have friends to spend some time with,” Ron rebuked. Hermione turned red at this; Ron felt a wave of triumph and finally hitting a sore spot. He supposed she probably never had friends outside of Hogwarts either. Even as strange as muggles were, they certainly couldn’t find Hermione good company. 

“Neville, I will stop by before curfew and see if you need any help with the homework. Harry, you would do well not to wait too long to get started on your homework as well,” Hermione then stormed off with a swish of her hair. Harry practically audibly frowned in response. 

“Do you have to make fun of her so much? She’s really not that bad once you get to know her.” Harry asked, feeling slightly caught in between friends. He really enjoyed Hermione’s company most of the time. Yes, she was a know-it-all, but she was also extremely kind. Plus, most of what she knew, Harry found fascinating since he had no background in the wizarding world at all. But he also found a certain comradery with Ron. Ron matched his own personality so well. Except for his tendency to judge people quickly. 

“I do know her. She’s a control-freak know-it-all who thinks she knows better than everyone else. Who is she to say I’m not trustworthy. She’s the terror. She’s probably running off to tell Professor McGonagall on you,” Ron shrugged Harry’s question off. Harry’s frown remained but he didn’t say anything. Blaise, as usual, ignored the tension and went back to the discussion before.

“So what broom do you think they’ll get you?” Blaise asked. Since Harry knew nothing about brooms, the other three took the time to fill him in on all the best ones. The disturbance between Ron and Hermione temporarily forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> I'm still struggling to discover Neville's character a little bit. I think I'm making him a little weak, but I also feel that he needs to learn his own strength. So expect some foreshadowing for some badass future Neville. 
> 
> On the other hand, I'm pleasantly surprised where Blaise is going. I was worried he would get lost as a quiet sidekick to Ron, but I'm happy he's finding ways to speak up. He's the rational one, if you haven't noticed, which I think is going to be a fun touch in a group of impulsive Gryffindors. 
> 
> Forgive me if I'm making Ron too mean right now. But trust me, I'm giving him a chance to learn. So bare with me.
> 
> As for the rest, I think they speak for themselves.


	4. Letter Gossip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some students wrote some letters, because really, no one can actually handle a Weasley in Slytherin. 
> 
> Also, Snape talks to his students a little.

Dear Mum and Dad,  
We wanted to send you an owl and let you know before someone else did and skewed it in any way (Like Percy)- No, we aren’t in trouble, Mum, jeez, way to think the worst of your sons. Seriously, woman, you call yourself our mother.  
Anyways, Ron’s, course, been sorted, but he was sorted into Slytherin, not Gryffindor like we all thought. Honestly, it makes sense us to that he’s Slytherin. Ron always wanted something more then to be another Weasley, this might be his chance.  
If you’re worried it’ll corrupt him, there shouldn’t be. You should have seen his face when he was talking to Draco last night at the feast. Ron is definitely not harboring any evil purist tendencies. He’s going to do well, probably better then he would in Gryffindor.  
So before you send him an owl, as we know you will, make sure you take some breaths before you write to him. We think he’s probably feeling conflicted right now. Like all of us, he always disregarded Slytherin. His face certainly said he didn’t expect Slytherin anymore than the rest of us really did.  
Go easy on him, and make sure to let the rest of the family know.  
With all our love, Fred and George  
********

Mum and Dad,  
You’ll never guess. Ron sorted into Slytherin. It’s atrocious. Certainly, it will put a stain on our family name. Such a shame. I hope this letter gets to you before you have to hear from someone else. Fred and George are certainly making a mockery of the whole situation. They shouldn’t be drawing attention to it at all. It’d be best if we just let everyone forget about the mishap. It really is unfortunate.  
I really worry for Harry Potter. It appears Ron has attached himself to the poor boy. I am unsure of Ron’s intentions. Potter, of course, was sorted into Gryffindor, so Ron really shouldn’t be associating with him much at all. It really brings his intentions into question, and I’m not the only one who seems to think so. It caused quite the stir when Ron came up to Harry this morning to talk to him while Harry sat eating breakfast. Ron’s friendship with Harry only draws more attention to the fact he was sorted into Slytherin unlike the rest of us. You really should talk to him and convince him to drop the friendship.  
I hope this news does no distress you too much. If only I was there in this time of crisis to help console you. We will need to stand together during this troubling time with our heads up high.  
Cordially, Percy  
******  
Dearest Mother and Father,  
I just wanted to write you in case you worried that I had not sent you an owl yet. I am sure you knew already, but I have been sorted into Slytherin. Vince and Greg have also been sorted here. It is clear everyone is jealous of our prestige. Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, and Daphne also joined me. There are others who I do not recognize as from any pure-blood family we know. I believe many of them are half-bloods, but I took your advice and do not let that stand in the way of befriending anyone who might help me in some way. I am attaching everyone’s names that I do not know so you can look it over and tell me anything you know about them.  
The only real surprise here in the Sorting was that a Weasley was sorted into Slytherin. Ron is his first name. I believe he is the youngest son. He appears as much a blood traitor as always. Harry Potter, who was sorted into Gryffindor, seems taken with Ron. I worry Potter has been corrupted by what Ron said about me, because he immediately showed hostility towards me. I have attempted conversation with him again, but Ron stopped me from getting anywhere. Every day, I suspect puts more lies into Potter’s mind about me. I would love your perspective and suggestion on how to proceed.  
I hope you are both doing well. I will send you news on my classes in another letter soon. I miss you both!  
Much love, Draco  
P.S. You were right, I am really enjoying all my classes! They are all so fascinating!  
*********  
My dearest Ronald,  
I have heard from your brothers about your sorting. I hope you send us a note to let us know how you are doing. If you don’t start sending the occasional letter, you’ll forget about us entirely. Your brothers have always made a practice of every two weeks or once a month sending us a letter. You don’t need to say a lot, just a little would be nice so we know you are still doing fine.  
We both hope you are happy in Slytherin. We love you so much and are so excited for you to get this unique chance to flourish. I can’t say we weren’t surprised, at first, but when we thought more about it, we found it made sense. You always did think differently. You always wanted to be the best and to stand apart from your brothers. When you took the time to consider something, you always thought through everything so carefully in comparison. I hope you find a place of common minds- we both do.  
The young Malfoy apparently told his father about your sorting as well, because Lucius Malfoy stopped by your father’s office. I think he was trying to extend a hand of friendship, but your father said a few choice words without thinking it through, letting his personal feelings get the best of him. He just didn’t like Lucius comparing you and Draco. Your father is so proud of you, but he worries about some of the company you may be forced around. However, I think you’ll be find regardless of who you are around. I know you know what’s right and wrong.  
I have heard also that you have befriended Harry Potter. I’m so glad you are friends with the boy. He seemed so lost in the station. I’m happy he has you to help him navigate the wizarding world. Make sure he knows he is always welcome at the Burrow. I hope you have made some friends in Slytherin as well. Do not all the prejudices, that unfortunately, I feel your father and I have helped you form. You are smarter than that. Find friends everywhere you go.  
We love you so so much. Make sure to send us a note.  
With all our love, Mum and Dad  
**************  
Ron stared at the note. He couldn’t believe Fred and George actually sent an owl detailing so much of what he had been up to. They even included his friendship with Harry! He threw it to the side, focusing on digging into the food in front of him.  
“The letter from your Mum and Dad?” Blaise asked, eyeballing it. Clearly, Ron seemed agitated.  
“Yes. Apparently my brothers weren’t joking when they said they sent a note to my mum and dad. They even detailed who I had been hanging around and everything. My mum is so nosey.” Ron complained.  
“I am surprised at you, Ron. Not telling your Mum and Dad about your new prestige,” Draco snickered where he sat diagonal Ron.  
“Shut it, Draco. No one asked your opinion.”  
“What? They should be worshiping your feet for the potential fame you are presenting them just by being sorted into Slytherin,” Draco twirled his fork between two fingers, pointing the end at Ron.  
“Seriously, shut up. It is too early to have to listen to your dumb face,” Ron grumbled, trying to shovel more food in his face faster so he could get up and leave. Blaise saw what Ron was trying to do and quickly joined in. Draco’s face tinted pink, and he swallowed his food readying a come-back. Then Professor Snape appeared behind them.  
“Gentlemen. I hope you get your fill before class today. I want your utmost attention today,” Snape eyeballed the continued shoveling of food that Ron took part in, even when the rest of the boys stopped.  
“Yes, Sir. What do you plan for our lesson?” Draco asked their Head of House dutifully. Ron noticed his back was suddenly straighter, and his usual nonchalance disappeared in favor of attentiveness. As Ron looked around, it appeared all the pure-blood wizards and witches in Slytherin, and the upperclassmen, showed the same respect. Ron slowed in his chewing (although his pace in eating overall barely altered).  
“It will be a surprise, but I’m sure you are all up to the task. Just remember, Potions is not as simple as some would have you think. Potions takes focus and patience. I expect all of you to be at your best in my class. I don’t want to find the Gryffindors doing better than you.” Snape warned warmly. The Snape Ron saw now differed from the slimy evil man Fred and George always described. Sure, he was slimy still, and Snape clearly was stern. No more stern, though, then Professor McGonagall. He looked forward to class with Harry and Neville today. He really wanted more classes with them.  
Rumor had it though, that Gryffindors and Slytherins stopped having so many classes together because too many accidents happened when they remained in the same room too long. Now, Ron had to pay the price. He choked on his food. Blaise slapped his back.  
“Mr. Weasley, I would really recommend you slow down eating. The food is not going anywhere. Please, do not miss my class because you are unable to eat properly. If you want to get ahead, eating like a savage will not help.” Snape frowned, seemingly as cautious about Ron as Ron was about him. Ron swallowed down his food finally, and Snape wandered off to check on some of the upperclassmen. Class today would certainly be interesting all right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to do these letters earlier, but I forgot, so they are here now. And a little bit of Snape, because I wanted to make sure to not ignore him all together. Just as a heads up, I won't be doing the Potions class scene. That's staying canon. But the next chapter should speed ahead in time a bit more, so we can see some more crucial scenes. 
> 
> Sorry it took me so long to just get through that first week. I really wanted to do a lot to prep everyone's relationships. Otherwise, when I skip ahead, I thought it would be too disjointed. :) Stick with me. More action to come. 
> 
> Sneak peek for next time: Draco challenges Neville to a duel. But not really, he says it to Ron, who accepts it for Neville. Then, Ron, Harry, Neville, and Draco all get detention for being out after dark! Hermione and Blaise, do not, because no one tells Hermione they are sneaking out, and Blaise just does not think its a good idea.


	5. Dueling Fools

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron really is not a fan of the people he has to be around. 
> 
> Really, Ron only likes Blaise and Harry.
> 
> The rest can go away. 
> 
> Ron would actually prefer it.

The class went horribly. As nice as Professor Snape acted to the Slytherins, he acted ten times worse than worse to the Gryffindors. Then ten time worse than that was how badly he treated Harry. Ron stood shocked outside the hallways afterwards.

“I can’t believe how he treated you. I’ve never seen him act like that before. Everyone in Slytherin seems to really like him!” Ron grumbled as they began making their way to the Great Hall.

“Well, that’s probably because he treats every other house like dirt,” Harry snapped, so furious he was seeing red.   
“Have you ever met him before?” Ron asked, certain that the Snape who treated his house with such regard could target Harry so unfairly. 

“I think I would remember someone like that. Granted, it wouldn’t surprise me if he knew Uncle Vernon. They would get along just grand.” Harry said with all the snark he could muster. Harry and Ron walked side-by-side with Blaise, Neville, and Hermione walking ahead of them. Blaise walked backwards with Neville walking pointedly forward to assure he didn’t trip. Hermione turned just enough to see the whole group but was largely trying to ignore Ron’s existence. 

“Maybe it’s because you defeated You-Know-Who, Harry! I think I remember Gran mentioning that Professor Snape used to be on You-Know-Who’s side.” Neville mused, excited that he knew something the other boy’s didn’t. 

“Maybe he was just trying to make sure you knew he wasn’t going to treat you special because of your fame, Harry,” Hermione said, giving him the benefit of the doubt. 

“None of the other teachers felt the need to do that, and they all let you answer the questions when you knew the answer. He hates all of Gryffindor. He’s probably just bitter because he didn’t get into Gryffindor,” Harry snaped. Then he quickly looked over at Ron, “Not that there’s anything wrong with Slytherin.” Ron nodded, showing he knew Harry was just ranting and didn’t mean any harm.

“That was not anything you can just excuse. Not all teachers are perfect, Hermione,” Ron threw at her. Hermione’s face turned pink and she turned to face forward. The boys went back to the possibility they had a Death Eater as a professor. The group entertained ideas of Professor Snape was actually brainwashing Slytherins like Draco to create a new group of evil-doers. Ron and Blaise added to the theory, but in Ron’s mind, he couldn’t help but wonder if Hermione was right. Not that he’d ever admit it. Snape always tried to stop by the breakfast table in the morning to say a word or two to the Slytherins. From the way the upperclassman talked, Professor Snape offered left his office door open to any Slytherin that needed help or wanted to talk. He kept a serious exterior and definitely wasn’t what you would call friendly. Yet, Ron felt his fellow Slytherins held him in high regard. There had to be a reason for that. If Professor Snape randomly harassed other houses, why would they still think well of him? Unless Slytherin was as bad as everyone always said. Ron couldn’t accept that. They had all been so nice to him so far. He refused to believe it.

***

Meanwhile, the tension between Ron and Hermione grew as their interactions became more frequent. Ron, Blaise, Neville, and Harry often passed their time together. Hermione spent her time largely with Harry and Neville, but a clear avoidance of Ron took place. This, however, was not always possible since Hermione openly didn’t get along with her other classmates. The girls, at most, appeared to tolerate her, but she seemed to not tolerate them well. So more often than not, Harry, Neville, and Blaise sat by while the bushy-haired Gryffindor and red-haired Slytherin quipped insults back and forth until one or the other stormed off. Blaise never directly said anything against Hermione, but he evidently only endured her company for her intelligence. At least, that’s what Ron told himself since Blaise only insisted they stay when they were trying to do homework. Blaise, after all, was the only one of the group who came close to Hermione’s intelligence. Although, no one ever tried to pretend like Hermione wasn’t in a clear lead. So, she ended up tutoring Neville and Harry on a regular basis, while Ron turned to Blaise for help. The irony of the matter came when Blaise turned to Hermione for help, when Ron personally refused her help. 

Neville became a split person as he often wanted to screw around with the other three boys, but also so desperately wanted to do well in class. Hermione was dedicated to helping him. He rose with her help, but something still managed to hold him back. 

“I do not understand it, Neville, you have all the form and knowledge,” Hermione cried in exasperation one day. Neville dropped his head in shame.

“I’m too stupid,” Neville’s eyes glistened. Hermione slammed her fist on the desk between them. 

“No. That’s not it. I know it,” then she disappeared suddenly, and the next time they saw her, books consumed her. 

“I don’t know what she thinks she’s gonna find,” Ron said to Blaise after several days of her being lost to the books. 

“No idea, but she seems sure Neville should be doing better,” Blaise shoved a fork full of food into his mouth. They sat facing the Gryffindor table, with a gap to where they could nonchalantly study their three friends. Or Harry and his two friends, because when it came right down to it, Ron remained unsure why Harry was friends with Neville and Hermione. Neville was not that bad, but he was clumsy and embarrassing more than he was anything else. From what Ron saw and heard, Harry should have befriended the two other Gryffindor boys, who seemed much more normal. Why he chose the two worst Gryffindors to befriend, Ron couldn’t fathom. 

“I think he’s a lost cause.” Ron responded firmly, and apparently too loudly. Draco, who sat talking to Vince and Greg, overheard their conversation evidently and chose this moment to join in. 

“Longbottom is worse than a Mudblood, even that Mudblood you have decided to disgrace your presence with. They should not let something so humiliating into Hogwarts,” Draco asserted confidently. Ron barely held back throwing his whole plate at Draco. His face heated. Draco’s words drew bloody guilt from Ron’s veins. Ron disliked Neville and Hermione, but it was never anything prejudicial. It was for personal reasons because he spent time with them. Their personalities clashed, not their blood. 

“You just say that because you’re jealous that Hermione does better then you in every class. Heck, Neville is probably already better then you since he actually tries. You just think because you were born a wizard that means you suddenly know everything,” Ron used his words as separation from the blood pure-blood’s bigotry. Draco countered with a laugh at the very thought.

“If he went up against me, he would cry because I even pulled out my wand,” Ron’s next words slipped out, before he even realized it. 

“You wouldn’t even bet on yourself in a Wizard’s Duel, because you know what a load of baloney that is.” 

“Well, let us test that, why don’t we? Astronomy tower at midnight? Unless you think Longbottom will be too scared?” Draco’s eyes glared daggers at Ron. 

“Of course not. He’ll do it.” Blaise kicked Ron underneath the table. The Weasley ignored him. 

“Vince will be my second. I assume you will be Longbottom’s?” Draco’s mouth curled into a grin at the very thought. Ron nodded abruptly. Draco popped the last grape which lay on his plate into his mouth while standing up. “Good luck convincing Longbottom to come.” Then he and his two friends stalked off. Ron’s glare followed them out of the room.

“You’re not going to convince Neville to do this,” Blaise stated as Ron remained fixated on the doors they just left from. Ron considered his options before he spoke.

“We just have to convince Harry. Neville goes along with what Harry says. Then with all four of us, we can overtake Draco and Vince, tie them up, and leave them to get caught by Filch.”

“Except Draco won’t hesitate to tell who did it to him.”

“He won’t have any proof. We will be back in bed before they can say anything. Then we just say Greg did it and they are trying to frame us. Who are they going to believe Harry and Neville or Draco Malfoy? No contest.” 

“This is not a good idea,” Blaise’s voice wavered, showing his clear nervousness. “I don’t think you should go through with this. You will get caught. I guarantee it.”

“It will be fine. We just have to catch them by surprise.”

“I can’t do this. I’m staying out of it. This is just a bad idea.”

“You’re kidding me,” Blaise shook his head firmly, and Ron had to drop it, he could tell from Blaise’s face, “Well, will you at least not say anything to Harry so I can convince him.” 

“Fine, I’ll let him go through with this if he doesn’t see how clearly not a good idea this is.” The pair stood up with that and went in search of their friends. They caught them outside the Great Hall, plus one Hermione. Ron quickly summarized what happened, lying a great deal so he could leave out the part where he insulted Hermione and Ron and where he was the one who antagonized Draco into challenging Neville. The more words set in front of Neville, the more his face drained of its natural color. 

“Why did you accept? I don’t want to duel Malfoy!” Neville barely managed to get the words out in his panic. 

“Because I couldn’t just let him go around saying you were too coward and stupid for Gryffindor.” 

“Maybe I am.” Hermione stepped closer to him, putting a hand on his arm. 

“Do not believe that for a second. Malfoy is just trying to get you all in trouble. If Ron wants to risk getting in trouble, then let him do it. Do not play Malfoy’s games,” Hermione insisted. Ron wanted to punch her huge teeth out.

“It’s not playing his games. You don’t need to even actually duel him. You just need to go and prove him wrong. I have a plan,” Ron insisted. 

“Do not listen to him, Neville.” 

“Shut up, you beaver, just because you have no sense of pride, doesn’t mean Neville has to,” Ron snapped, hoping he pressed her buttons. Success. 

“Let’s go,” Hermione tugged Neville away, leaving Harry standing there alone with Ron and Blaise. Just what he wanted. As soon as he realized Hermione would not drop it and let Neville make his own choice, Ron knew he needed to change tactics. Hermione needed to leave, but Harry needed to stay. Harry was the key to getting Neville’s help. 

“You have to help me. We can’t let Draco win,” Ron urged. 

“I don’t even know what a wizard’s duel is.”

“It doesn’t even matter. It won’t happen. We don’t know enough spells. We just need to put Draco into his place.” 

“How do we do that?” So Ron launched into a detailed explanation of what he had in mind. Looking back years from then, he would realize just how bad his strategy was. Now, however, he thought himself brilliant for it. 

“You think that’s really going to work,” Harry asked when Ron finally finished. They sat on the steps now, keeping an eye out for anyone that might give them away. 

“Yes, but I need your help.” So Harry consented, and they agreed to meet outside the Gryffindor dormitory. Harry described the way, so Ron could get there. 

That night, Draco, Vince, Ron, and Blaise all stayed awake long after everyone else went to sleep in the Slytherin common room. Blaise and Ron whispered to one another; Blaise still trying to convince Ron of all the dangers he faced by going on with his plan. Ron stubbornly denied them all. When the time finally closed in on when Ron needed to meet Harry and Neville, Ron headed to the door. He glanced back to Draco and Vince. 

“I’m going to go meet Neville, you two aren’t going to chicken out, right?” Ron prodded.

“We will be there to see you show up without Neville, do not worry about that.” Draco sneered back. Ron’s face matched his as he exited the Slytherin common room. It surprised Ron how dark the castle stood at night. The trip to the Gryffindor common room terrified Ron. He never realized how many people he saw during the day until he alone filled the halls. He jumped at every sound. When he finally found the Fat Lady portrait Harry had described to him, he felt a rush of relief. On the tail end of it, confidence. He made it all the way to the tower without incident. Maybe it was only rumor that anything prowled the halls at night. 

“A student after hours. Well,” the Fat Lady tutted. He ignored her and stood in the shadows nearby, waiting. Time slowed down, and his confidence wavered once again. After what felt like hours, the portrait swung open to show a door way. Ron perked up, eyeing the dormitory behind the two figures coming out of it. It occurred to Ron in that moment that might have been his dormitory had the Sorting gone as everyone expected it would. The thought left as quickly as it came. 

One head whispered frantically to the other. Behind those, a third head followed out of the portrait hole. The Fat Lady let out scandalized noises, but otherwise said nothing. Harry caught sight of Ron and quickly motioned for them to get on their way. Ron’s head filled with questions, but he silently followed Harry’s lead. Hermione’s stony addition to the group goes unspoken. Ron desperately wants to know how she managed to join the party, but refuses to acknowledge her existence. 

Ron thought the trip would seem shorter with three other pairs of feet, but instead it felt longer. He felt they made quite a bit of noise moving along the corridors. Neville skittered and jumped at every sound. Hermione felt like a dead weight. Her arms stayed stiffly crossed as she walked alongside Harry, her eyes darting this way and that. 

They reached the Astronomy Tower to find it empty. Ron glances around in surprise. He felt certain Draco intended to come. Harry looked to Ron for an answer. Hermione, meanwhile, stood like the queen of the world.

“See, no one is here. We need to get back to our dormitory before someone is here that we do not want to be,” Hermione whispered aggressively. Ron stood there, wanting to kick something.

“He’s probably just late or got lost,” Ron insisted, refusing to accept Hermione could be right. 

“Harry, this is absurd-“ Hermione’s pleading was cut off by another voice. A voice coming up the stairs. Ron hurried glanced around, saw another door, and led the way out. Ron did not need to look back to know there were three sets of feet following him. When Ron navigated a number of hallways, not really certain where he went, he finally stopped when he risked losing all breath. Ron leaned against the wall, the other three stooped over where they stopped. 

“That was too close,” Neville said out loud. 

“C’mon. We need to keep moving just in case,” Ron waved them on, taking deep breaths between each of his words. They only walked down one corridor when they suddenly found themselves face-to-face with Peeves. Who, of course, started screaming.

“STUDENTS OUT OF BED!!!” And once again they were off, they heard footsteps behind them, and just when they thought they might escape, they found themselves in front of a locked door. Ron kicked the door.

“Move,” Hermione shoved him out of the way, “Alohomora.” Then she swept all three boys inside the door. They pressed their ears to the door and listened for Filch. His steps came nearer and then left once again. They froze there, waiting for him to come back to find them. They might have stayed there had Ron not looked behind them and seen what was hiding there.

“Wh-where are we?” Ron gasped out in a low voice. 

“I do not know, but it cannot help us not getting caught by you-“ Hermione’s hushed tones turned to a squeak as she saw what Ron saw. Three heads. A dog. Harry and Neville saw then, too, and all tumbled out of the room, much more willing to face Filch then the three-headed dog. 

They face no one outside though, and with Hermione in the lead, they found their way back to the Fat Lady, who grumpily opened the porthole for them. Ron hesitated outside a moment, before following them in, not wanting to get caught outside by himself quite yet. He, at least, needed to catch his breath. 

“What are they doing with that thing here,” Neville gasped, falling to a couch. Ron took in the warm surroundings that were so different from the Slytherin ones. Slytherin common room felt serene, regal, and powerful. The Gryffindor common room felt warm, inviting, and altogether fun. It felt messy as though it purposefully wanted to not be perfectly intact. Slytherin always looked pristine, like it needed to be at its best always. 

“I do not know, but we were really lucky back there. We could have been killed- or worse expelled,” Hermione huffed, “you two should have never gone out. I told you how badly it could go. You both should know better.” 

“No one invited you along, you could have stayed here.” Ron jumped into to his friend’s defense. 

“What are you even doing here? This is not your dormitory.” Then she turned to Harry, “You should have never told him where our dormitory even was. How can you trust him? Clearly he does not have your best interests in mind by telling you he agreed to a duel with Malfoy. How do we even know he and Malfoy are not in this together trying to get you into trouble?” 

“Shut your face,” Ron nearly yelled, his blood rushed so quickly to his head. He saw red.

“No, you shut up. They left tonight on your word, and Malfoy did not even show up. That just makes them look like fools and you the idiot who thought any intelligent person would actually go out. Clearly, Malfoy knows how to play you, because you played right into his game. You need to grow up and stop acting before you think!” Hermione snapped back viciously. 

“You are really saying Draco is better than me? Do you even know what he calls you behind your back? Worse than anything anyone your house says about you, that’s for sure! No one asked you to come tonight. No one told you to come. Next time, keep your nose out of other people’s business.” Ron’s fists dared Hermione to say one more thing. Harry stepped between them.

“Quiet down, both of you, you are going to wake up the whole dorm. Hermione, let’s talk about this tomorrow. Ron, get back to your dorm before you get caught out of bed. We’ll think of a way get Malfoy back later,” then he and Neville marched up the spiral staircase out of sight. Hermione gave Ron one last I-Hate-You glance between storming up the stairs.

Ron took his time back to the dungeons. He felt like a fool, but more than that, he felt angry and frustrated that Hermione was there to see it. He hated her more than anyone he knew right now, even more then Malfoy.

That’s not to say he was going to let Malfoy off the hook. So when he got back to the dorm, he filled a basin with water. Ron then proceed to dump the entirety of the cold water on Draco’s sleeping form. Draco jolted away, sputtering curses in his half-sleep. Ron then dropped the basin on top of Draco’s head, waking the other sleeping forms. Only then did Ron fall into his own bed, leaving Draco sending angry words his way. Ron fell asleep shortly after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to stay canon, while still highlighting the difference, so don't get mad if I diverge a bit from canon. It's a Slytherin Ron, things will be different.
> 
> Ron's still being so mean! But don't worry, soon, Ron will do a little growing. 
> 
> Also, you have some more Snape to look forward to, and some exploration of Harry's friendship with Neville and Hermione.


	6. Familial Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slytherins and Gryffindors are really mean to one another. 
> 
> Ron is exempt from any Gryffindor bullying.

Fred and George strutted down the hallway to their next class alongside Lee Jordan. Suddenly, Fred caught sight of two of their Gryffindor classmates, Kenneth Towler and Andrew Kirke, standing at the side of the corridor, eyeballing two Slytherin first-years down the way. Fred nudged his brother and eyed the Gryffindors, then glanced to the red-haired Slytherin. Kenneth held up his wand, pointing to where the two boys stood staring out the window, talking. George quickly cast his own jinx and Kenneth yelped. The twins joined the pair, dragging the unaware Lee along with them. Kenneth glared at them, quickly finding them as the culprits. 

“Hey, you know who you were about to mess with?” Fred demanded, quietly so to assure the younger Weasley did not overhear. He knew Ron’s pride would never accept this interference. 

“Two future terrors,” Andrew replied, but without much conviction. His confusion about the two greatest Slytherin-jinxers addressing them in such a manner played across his face. Kenneth shared an identical expression. Both clearly failed to connect the red hair. The twins always knew both fellow Gryffindor third years lacked a bit in the head region of the body. This just settled the matter.

“No, that’s our little brother, you nitwit,” George held his wand threateningly out, hidden in the circle of their bodies from all passer-byers. 

“Aw damn. We didn’t know!” Kenneth put up his hands in defense, clearly wary now that he knew he crossed the Weasley twins on accident. 

“How couldn’t you know, he couldn’t look more like a Weasley if he tried!” Lee shook his head, finally catching on to the conversation. Kenneth and Andrew shrunk. They both quickly muttered apologies and scurried off as quickly as possible, not wanting to give the twins time to come up with a creative punishment.

“I hadn’t even thought our own housemates would target our brother,” Fred mused as he watched Ron and Blaise cluelessly walk away. 

“He should be fine when he’s around Harry and Neville,” George frowned.

“What about the rest of the time?” Fred asked, although more for Lee’s sake then George’s. 

“Well, I think it’s time for a Gryffindor common room announcement,” Lee grinned.

***

That evening, a poster found its way on the bulletin board. Ron’s young face looked solemn at the torture of having his picture taken. Large letters scrawled “NO TOUCH” across the top. On the bottom, it read “Weasley protection on this Slytherin. Don’t mess with him or we will mess with you.” No announcement officially echoed the room, but the attraction the poster gained rivaled any announcement anyways.

Harry, Neville, and Hermione stared up at it.

“Do you think we should tell him?” Neville asked. 

“I don’t know,” Harry ran his hands over his hair, attempting to flatten it. His brow furrowed in deep consideration.

“I wouldn’t if I were you two. Ron has a large enough sense of pride. He won’t like this at all,” Hermione turned away from it. 

“Young Hermione is correct,” Fred’s head appeared over the back of a chair behind them.

“You’d best not tell him,” George’s head popped around the corner of the couch. 

“What if someone else tells him?” Neville inquired.

“Nah, most people don’t talk to Slytherins,” Fred disregarded Neville’s worry.

“Plus, if Slytherins find out, I don’t imagine they will tell him. More than likely, they’ll just use him for protection. Then it’s a win-win, because he will have extra protection then just us,” George added on.

“Why’d you do this anyways?” Harry asked, unclear on why Ron needed protection. 

“Because we cannot always be around him,” Hermione said, setting her books down on the table beside them, “Slytherins and Gryffindors are notorious for their rivalry. It does not matter who you are, if you are in the other house, you will be targeted. Unless someone in the other house has declared a ‘no touch’ rule. It’s an unspoken agreement in both houses.” 

“That was put very eloquently,” George praised her, rising a smile on her lips. 

“Ron would not be surprised if he was attacked, but we both agreed he probably won’t realize he is never attacked unless someone points it out to him,” Fred explained.

“And we don’t think Ron would like feeling like he needed us to keep him safe.”

“Our Ronny-kins has a bit of an issue with feeling like he’s dependent on others.” Harry and Neville nodded along, finally agreeing to not tell. 

No one in Gryffindor accidentally targeted Ron after that day. Nor did anyone mention to Ron about his brothers’ no touch order. Occasionally family members found themselves split between houses. When that happened, often times family members gained protection among houses. This fell into just another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last week has been insanely busy. 
> 
> This is a short ditty I wrote in the middle of writing another chapter, because I started writing and thought of how Slytherins likely got jinxed all the time by Gryffindors. Ron, of course, would find himself exempt from this bullying. 
> 
> So I ended up writing this little piece. Since I don't have time to write a proper chapter, I figured this could be a fun intermission short to fill time between longer chapters. :) 
> 
> Plus I love writing about Fred and George.


	7. Fighting Trolls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween is finally here. 
> 
> Largely canon with variation appropriate for a Slytherin Ron.

While Draco and Ron glared across the room at one another and generally added insult to injury whenever possible in regards to one another, Ron’s distaste for Harry’s muggle-born friend turned out to overpower his attention to the pure-blood in his own house. Draco held off on doing anything else immediately to Ron, seeing his attention put toward what Draco considered a more worthy place for hatred. 

The flames erupted more and more. Hermione began avoiding Ron altogether. To the extent that she often immediately left to go study on her own. Ron saw Harry try to convince her to stay and occasionally even told Ron to lay off her. But the antagonism between them could not be quelled by mere words. Blaise even tried and failed; he didn’t care much for Hermione in the first place. It escalated over the next two month to a mound of tension and anger. Halloween became the climax.

***

Halloween, the Gryffindors and Slytherins had class together. The whole class, Ron scoffed at her constant need to answer every question and teacher’s pet attitude. It actually began becoming audible to Professor Snape, who found it so distracting that the Head of House asked if Ron would like to answer the next question with one raised eyebrow. Ron didn’t know the answer and quickly shut up after that. However, the embarrassment only fueled Ron’s annoyance at the bushy-haired Gryffindor. His annoyance spilled over by the end of the class. 

So as the Slytherin first years made their way to the Great Hall for lunch as group, Ron loudly complained about the girl. Now, all the Slytherins found Ron’s deep hatred more than a little amusing. Some because of their own dislike for her due to her muggle-born status, some because they found Hermione Granger just as exhausting. They largely refrained from adding to the commentary, finding out quickly that Ron was swift to redirect his anger towards one of them. That did not, however, stop them from laughing along. And Ron loved the attention. 

So Ron walked at the head of the group with Blaise on one side. He made sure to speak loud enough for all of his peers to hear. They walked in a close huddle, a practice the rest of the Slytherin quickly began, finding alone they were much more likely to subject to questioning and harassment by Gryffindor upperclassmen. Ron and Blaise seemed the only ones unaware of this general practice among Slytherins. 

“Oh, Professor, I can’t make any friends, so will you pretend you like me and don’t find me the most annoying creature in the world,” Ron squealed in a girlish imitation with his arm raised in the air like Hermione’s was so often in class. All the Slytherin first years laughed in response. 

“It’s no wonder she doesn’t have any friends. Even Harry and Neville only tolerate her so she does their homework for them. If all muggles are as intolerable as her, it’s no wonder we need to keep ourselves secret. Less we have to deal with people like that.” That’s when Blaise elbowed him and pointed to a brown head that hurried past into a side hallway. The bushy hair was unmistakable. Ron shrugged.

“She must have realized, no one likes her,” Ron’s voice carried to her scurrying figure, “No one!” The Slytherins around him laughed even harder when they too caught sight of the Gryffindor.

***

That night, Ron and Blaised strutted into the Great Hall for dinner same as usual. Ron’s ears immediately perked up at Hermione’s name traveling away from three Gryffindor girls standing by the entrance. Ron hesitated, slowing down to a crawl, his hand reaching out to slow Blaise down as well. The girls showed no indication they noticed the boys at all.

“Yeah, the bathroom in the dungeons. It’s out of the way which is why I think she chose it.” 

“She absolutely refused to talk to us this afternoon.”

“Any idea on what’s wrong?” 

“No. She just said to leave her alone.”

“I’ve heard Weasley has been bullying her.” 

“I bet that’s what-“ Then the voices drowned out as Ron walked out of ear’s reach. Just as he reached the Slytherin table, Harry jogged up to him. 

“Have you seen Hermione? She missed class this afternoon.”

“No,” Ron omitted what he just heard, still consuming the knowledge himself. Blaise revealed nothing, simply gazing at Ron. Harry frowned and then said he’d see them later, before he went back to the Gryffindor table. Ron’s heart thudded. He tried to ignore Blaise’s loud silence. Even his empty stomach failed to draw his attention properly to the delicious Halloween banquet and away from the nagging feeling of guilt eating at his stomach. His brain overworked, unable to settle on feeling guilt or satisfaction at the news of his effect on the Gryffindor. He felt the severity of Hermione’s emotions, but Ron always found it hard to empathize in general. Not to mention with someone he really didn’t like. 

Ron sat there in silence, stuck only with an internal argument for company. Then Quirrell ran in and fainted. His words echoed in Ron’s head as Dumbledore directed everyone back to their common rooms. The words felt important, sounding away and away in his head, but he struggled to see why at first. He moved with the wave of panicked students only a few steps. Then it clicked and he grabbed Blaise’s arm. Standing on his toes, Ron scanned the Great Hall for the heads of two Gryffindor first-years.

“Ron, what are you doing?” Blaise asked, trying to yank his arm free. Ron caught sight of the unruly black hair and began pushing his way through the streams of bodies. 

“We need to find Harry,” Ron yelled over the roar, not stopping for a moment. Breathing heavily, the two Slytherins only reached Harry and Neville as they reach the staircase leading to the Gryffindor tower. 

“Harry, Neville, have you seen Hermione yet?” Ron grabbed both of them, finally letting go of Blaise, who still struggled against the forced movements. Harry and Neville stopped, turning back to the Slytherin. Both Gryffindors’ eyes flicked around the crowd as though they expected to see her there. Blaise shook out his arm. 

“I think she’s in the girl’s bathroom in the dungeons, and I don’t think she knows about the troll.” Harry’s eyes widened and the two boys concluded without words what they needed to do. Blaise and Neville failed to join this agreement. Harry and Ron already took several steps to the dungeons before it occurred to Ron they lacked two other bodies following them. He put his hand out to stop Harry momentarily and stared back. A quick study of his friends left him with a quick decision. 

“Blaise, Neville, go tell Dumbledore or if you can’t find him, McGonagall, that Hermione Granger and the two of us are in the dungeons,” Ron then turned and ran. Harry followed right on his heels. Ron knew that if Hermione remained in the dungeons, she might meet the troll any moment now. No time to spare convincing the cautious Blaise and the unpredictable Neville to join them. Besides, Ron and Harry carried no knowledge on how to fight a troll, so professors right behind them only assured Ron. Ron needed to find Hermione though. He needed to assure that while the professors worked on finding the troll Hermione remained safe. Hermione needed to come out of this perfectly fine. 

When Ron and Harry saw the troll wander into a doorway, Ron thought it must be his lucky day. He quickly locked the door behind the troll and triumphantly took a step back. That’s when the full view of the door came into Ron’s adrenaline-narrowed vision. The girl’s bathroom. A shriek followed Ron’s revelation and Harry’s eyes met Ron’s. They scrambled to open the door. Tripping over their feet, they stumbled into the bathroom to see Hermione cornered by the slow moving troll. 

Harry swiftly ran up and jumped up onto the troll’s back. Part of Ron felt awed at Harry’s swift movement, the other part flinched at the stupidity of the impulse decision. Ron raised his wand. His mind worked swiftly through the spells he knew as the troll turned away from the frightened girl. His eyes skittered to the girl and he knew what spell to cast. It was the first spell she ever tried to teach him. 

He recalled the regular group of five sat in an empty classroom practicing their Charms homework. Hermione sat at a desk reading a book, mastering the spell in class. The other three boys finally grasped the spell with only some minor direction from Hermione. Ron, however, refusing Hermione’s help, still struggled. After watching Ron fail several times in a row, Hermione finally piped up, correcting him on the enunciation. This memory came to him in the girl’s bathroom that day. 

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Ron said flawlessly, pointing at the troll’s club. He yanked the club from the troll’s hands, moving it above his head, before releasing the charm. A loud thunk pervaded the room, and the troll dropped to the floor. Harry picked himself up and grabbed out his wand as Ron hurried over to Hermione to help her up. Her knees shook to a standing position right as a scream filled the room. 

“What in Merlin’s name!” McGonagall cried out, standing in the doorway with Dumbledore and Snape. Ron flinched, realizing how stupid his heroic act appeared in hindsight. 

“Do one of you want to kindly tell me why Mr. Zabini and Mr. Longbottom told us that you three would be in the dungeons?” Dumbledore calmly asked. Ron noticed the headmaster eyed the troll with apparent interest.

“That was me. I told them to go tell you,” Ron stumbled out, unsure where he intended to go with his explanation.

“Professor, I can explain,” Hermione quickly interjected. Ron looked over in surprise; Harry following suit. “I thought I could help with troll since I’ve read all about them. I told Harry and Ron. They both tried to tell me not to, but I ran off anyways. They followed after me to try to stop me but ended up saving me instead. They found me cornered by the troll. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. I would likely be dead if they hadn’t followed after me.”

“Is this true, Mr. Weasley?” Snape stepped forward to study the troll.

“Yes, sir. I wanted to make sure Professor Dumbledore knew where we were, but I was worried about what would happen if Hermione was alone,” Ron stated honestly. 

“Well, I think 30 points from Gryffindor is due for your actions, Miss Granger,” Professor McGonagall scolded, “I would have expected more from you. I hope you have learned your lesson.” Hermine hung her head; Ron knew her shame was sincere. 

“I think 30 points to both Gryffindor and Slytherin for Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley’s quick thinking, unless you would disagree, Severus,” Professor McGonagall asked, as though daring him to not take 30 points to his own house.

“I think that would be appropriate. Although, I think both boys need to be reminded about how lucky they got this time. Next time, they might want to consider letting us handle the situation in full,” Professor Snape replied warily. 

“Well, I think you have all had enough of an exciting night. Off to bed all of you,” Professor McGonagall ushered them all out. They walked in silence until the trio came to where it was necessary to part. Ron concentrated on the remainder of his adrenaline rush as he worked up his courage to say something, anything, to the Gryffindor girl at his side. 

“Hermione,” Ron said, stopping in the middle of the hall. His abrupt stop left Hermione and Harry walking several steps forward before stopping themselves. They both turned back to look at him. “Th-thanks.” Ron’s face blossomed with red, and he dropped his eyes to the ground. 

“My pleasure, Ron,” Hermione smiled at him sweetly, leaving him no doubt about her sincerity. 

“Hermione…” Ron started, lost for the correct words to portray his guilt, “I- I’m not too hot in charms and apparently they come in handy sometimes. Maybe you could help me out sometime?” Ron hated himself for these words. The apologies, the words about his guilt, they refused to pass his lips. 

Hermione made a sudden move, and Ron flinched, expecting to be hit. Instead her arms flung around him. She hugged him tight, then just as quickly, let him go. She took a step back before she spoke.

“Anytime. I want to help whenever I can.” Ron still grappled with the words to portray his feelings, but he knew her words to speak the truth. He felt guilt he always took her kindness for granted.

“Thanks,” Ron grunted out finally. Hermione smiled once more.

“Have a good night, Ron,” Hermione and Harry disappeared as Ron stood there trying to say those extra words. 

From then on, something changed before Ron and Hermione. They still held fundamental differences, but something about fighting a troll and lying to professors made them understand each other in a whole new light. This helped the whole group as well. Ron took time to appreciate Neville more now that he realized he judged too unfairly the first time. Blaise found himself appreciating Hermione more without Ron’s hatred infecting him. Blaise and Neville also took to a friendship of their own, sharing not in the fight with the troll but the safety of not having fought a troll together. The dynamics of the group shifted as quickly as they formed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a quick clarification of my story line. If I don't write about it, then it means that it likely fit with canon. Since my focus is on the effects of Ron being Slytherin, I might forget some key moment for the over-arching plot. If that's the case, either let canon stand, or if it contradicts my story, let me know and I'll try to write in a fix somewhere. 
> 
> That said, if there is any scene you definitely want to see, let me know! I am picking scenes more or less based on my own interest, but I'm flexible since I am writing this as I go. While I have some scenes throughout the stories I definitely want to write, there are many I haven't considered and likely won't if someone doesn't ask for them!


	8. Failing Snape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron learns he gets to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas.
> 
> Snape disapproves of Weasleys.
> 
> But does that mean he doesn't like every Weasley?
> 
> Ron doesn't really know.

Christmas was right around the corner when Ron received an owl from his parents over breakfast. He continued shoveling food with one hand as he tore messily tore open the letter with the other. His eyes scanned over the letter. The next second, he mumbled “be right back” to Blaise, mouth still full of food, before rushing over to the Gryffindor table.

The Gryffindor trio of his friends sat together; Neville saw him first, being the only one facing his direction. 

“Hey, Ron!” Neville greeted with a smile.

“Hey, Neville,” Ron rushed out before turning to look at the black-haired boy who now faced him, “Harry, great news!”

“What?” Harry choked down his breakfast. 

“I’ll be staying at Hogwarts over break after all!” Ron grinned as he watched his friend’s face light up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Hermione and Neville’s faces grinning just as bright. He brushed the observation away, not being able to place a reason for it. Several days ago when the professors first asked for confirmation on who was staying, Harry discovered all four of his friends, Blaise included, planned on leaving. Ron was much more excited to stay at Hogwarts with just Harry. 

Ron acknowledged in his head he favored Harry over the rest of his friends, even Blaise. The other three ruined potential fun with their overly cautious natures. Harry easily would join Ron on most adventures if it weren’t for them. So Ron saw this Christmas as a chance to break away and show Harry he shouldn’t let the others hold them back. 

“That’s so great, but what happened to you going home?” Hermione asked.

“My parents are going to visit my brother. So I guess all of us are staying here.” Ron explained. 

“Yo, Ron, you get a letter from Mum and Dad?” Fred yelled from down the table. 

“We aren’t going home anymore,” George’s voice followed. Ron’s blush filled his face as everyone stared over at the Slytherin. 

“Why can’t I be part of one of those families that disowns kids who get put in Slytherin? I wouldn’t mind Fred and George ignoring me,” Ron grumbled. 

“They care. Maybe they think you really didn’t know,” Hermione tried out on Ron.

“Yeah, and that explains their need to inform everyone else.” Professor Snape’s slunk next to Ron. 

“I presume based on your brothers’ disturbing display of volume that I should mark you down as staying for Christmas, Mr. Weasley,” Professor Snape drawled, giving the Gryffindors a disgusted look. 

“Yeah. Sorry about that, sir.” Ron said, his face dipping down to his chest. 

“You might consider heading back to your own table if you want to finish eating breakfast,” Professor Snape added, before moving away towards one end of the Slytherin table to make his morning rounds. Ron frowned, suddenly considering his own house. He realized that he didn’t know who in his own house was staying. Looking at the Gryffindor house, Harry at least had his three brothers for company.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later,” Ron briskly left, heading towards where Blaise and the other first-years sat. He found his seat first, beginning to shovel food into his mouth again as he tried to strain to remember if anyone said they were staying.

“Yo, Ted, whatcha doing for Christmas?” Ron spouted out loudly enough so the boy five seats away could hear him.

“Going home?” Theodore yelled back, confused at the sudden confrontation. Ron looked down the other way. 

“Millicent, what you doing for Christmas?” 

“Going back home.” 

“Mr. Weasley, after apologizing for your brothers, I would hope you wouldn’t follow in the same undignified display,” Professor Snape sighed with disappointment. The Weasley boy held much of the same habits of his brothers. The older man knew the first-year needed a lot of guidance to reach his fullest potential. 

“I was trying to figure out who was staying for Christmas…” Ron muttered, barely swallowing his food beforehand. Something about the professor made him feel the need to impress him. Ron desperately wanted to hate Snape with Harry. With Harry, it felt easy, but as soon as Ron found himself around his fellow Slytherins, he wanted to impress the others, including Snape. 

“You might have just asked me. I have the list of students staying in Slytherin. I’d be more than willing to share it with you,” Professor Snape informed him. Ron blushed. 

“Oh.” 

“Use your resources, Mr. Weasley, and you will appear much more knowledgeable even when you aren’t.” Professor Snape idled, waiting for Ron to respond. When Ron failed to, one of the upperclassmen responded for him.

“Well, can you tell us who is staying?” 

“Miss Farley, Mr. Adrian Pucey, third year, Mr. Terence Higgs, seventh year, and Miss Davis.” Ron only blushed more heavily that Professor Snape felt the need to give years for both boys. True, Ron didn’t recognize either name, but he knew he should. Did Snape have to embarrass him in front of everyone? 

“Thanks,” Ron muttered, shoveling more food into his mouth. Snape disappeared with a swoosh. 

***

“Snape is the worst,” Ron slumped down that afternoon with the trio of Gryffindors and Blaise in an empty classroom to study. 

“What did he do this time?” Hermione asked right as Blaise exasperatedly sighed out a, “You are still on that?” 

“Yes, I am. He did it on purpose. He just hates Weasleys!” Ron paced the room.

“What did he do?” Hermione asked again.

“He embarrassed me- on purpose- in front of the whole Slytherin table. Acted like I didn’t know my own class-“ 

“You didn’t know who Adrian or Terence was. You probably wouldn’t know Gemma or Tracey either if it weren’t for one is a Prefect and the other is in our year,” Blaise frowned.

“Yeah, but you did, and you would have told me! He didn’t need to! What does it matter that I don’t know them anyways? They have never talked to me! There’s like 10 people in every year. That’s 70 people! It’s only October. How am I supposed to learn 70 people in 2 months!” Ron bemoaned. The Gryffindors didn’t say a thing. They knew their house. Neville explained to them early on why it was important. Harry and Neville still mixed people up and forgot names, but largely they at least could identify people by their year. Hermione, of course, studied everyone closely and knew everyone by name and year. She, recently, also decided to learn the other houses as well. When Harry asked why, she replied it couldn’t hurt to know who everyone was. 

“I’m just saying, he wasn’t wrong. Maybe he didn’t see it as embarrassing but as helping you?” Blaise responded.

“So now you’re just going to be another suck up in Slytherin who worships the ground Snape slims on?” Ron snapped, angry he wasn’t receiving support from his friend. 

“That’s not-“ Blaise started.

“Ron’s probably right. Snape isn’t exactly known for his niceness. He probably was getting him back for being friends with me,” Harry offered, with a grim bitterness. Snape’s hatred for Harry already grew old and embittered the man to him. “Besides, we have other things to worry about, like finding out what the Sorcerer’s Stone is.” Harry determined that to be the end of the conversation, and Hermione quickly followed up to second that. 

So the group pretended as though the brief argument had not occurred. When they all moved to part that evening, Hermione hesitated behind, ushering Harry and Neville on. They stared at her confused but went ahead anyways. Ron stood apart from Blaise, his arms crossed. He remembered his anger and fed it. Blaise, meanwhile, stood with a stiff line across his face where his mouth should be. He felt assuredly that he was right and that Ron could just stay mad if that’s how he wanted it.

Hermione stared between the two friends for just a moment, long enough to make both turn their heads to the side to avoid her gaze. Hermione’s brown eyes held properties too old for her age. Staring into them always felt like staring into that of a professor’s. Rarely, she turned them onto the boys as she did now, but it always felt incredibly invasive. They both prepared themselves for a lecture, but instead, she looked to Ron and spoke of something else entirely.

“Ron, I’m really glad you’re staying here with Harry,” Hermione told him softly. Ron clinched his eyebrows together.

“Uh, sure,”

“I think the holidays are hard for Harry. I think he tries to hide it, but the things he said… About how the Dursley’s treated him around the holidays. He does not expect anything good to happen during them, so I think you staying is a real big treat, even if it was not your first choice,” Hermione’s words almost ran together. She moved from foot to foot, as though nervous about her words. 

“Uh…” Ron had no clue what to say.

“I just think… Oh, never mind. Just thank you, Ron, for being you and being happy about staying. And both of you, make sure to get Harry a Christmas present,” Hermione then scurried off to catch up with the boys. Ron and Blaise exchanged looks.

“What was that about?” Blaise asked. Ron was paying him no attention as he was still digesting Hermione’s last words.

“We are supposed to buy Christmas presents???” Ron panicked. Blaise laughed, and their disagreement was temporarily suspended. They took the walk back down to the Slytherin dormitory slowly, discussing on their way all the possible presents for their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's been so long! I am back in the states with no more holiday obligations to attend to. I should be back to my (almost) weekly postings! Enjoy! 
> 
> Coming up next: Christmas!!!!!!


	9. Christmastime Slytherin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas time at Hogwarts.
> 
> Ron is forced to spend time with his house.
> 
> He also finds out about some traditions.

It was a strange experience to watch the dormitory empty out. The day everyone left included a flurry of activity. Then there was none. Ron joined Harry to wave off Blaise, Hermione, and Neville. Then it was just them. Ron and Harry wandered the halls of school. They were more familiar with them now, but still felt that some corners of the school remained a mystery to them. When dinner time finally came, they walked down to the Great Hall together, both lamenting that they couldn’t sit by one another. 

However, their depression was for naught, as they found when they entered the Great Hall, only one table remained. So small the group of students who remained at Hogwarts this Christmas, they could all remain at one single long table. The teachers joined them even. Professor Dumbledore waved them in.

“Come in, come grab a seat, boys. No need to remain in houses this Christmas.” So the Gryffindor and Slytherin sat down besides the Weasley twins. Across the table sat Percy and Gemma, chatting amicably considering their rivalry status. Otherwise at the table sat three Hufflepuffs and two Ravenclaws. Soon, Terence, Adrian, and Tracey joined them at the table as well. And that was it besides the professors who filled on half the table. Tracey sat on the other side of Ron. He never talked to her much. She always seemed quiet. 

“So why you here for Christmas?” Ron spit a little bit of food out as he spoke with his mouth open. Tracey made a face, but hesitated a moment before speaking.

“Mum and Dad are still getting used to me being in Slytherin. I figured I’d give them some time,” Tracey muttered into a cup before taking a deep drink out of it. 

“Ha, have one of those parents, eh? Never mind them, they’ll get over it. There’s always one set of parents every year like that,” the seventh-year Ron learned to be Terence Higgs assured the first-year. 

“Swear it’s always the half-bloods, too,” Adrian spoke up, eager to show he knew something about it as well. Terence nodded in agreement. 

“Why half-bloods?” Ron asked, not really following the conversation. Harry beside him talk to Fred and George about Quidditch. 

“Because clearly the family doesn’t have problems with breaking blood purity and usually hate Slytherin more than even Gryffindors,” Terence explained. 

“You’re a half-blood?” Ron asked Tracey, who blushed immensely even though it had already been implied. Tracey simply nodded and refused to say more. Terence and Adrian swiftly changed the subject, sending looks over to Ron. Ron stared wide-eyed, not catching on to where he went wrong.

The rest of dinner remained uneventful, or as uneventful as a table full of different houses could be. Ron talked more to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff then perhaps ever before. By the end of the meal, he couldn’t tell you what their names were, but he could tell you who supported what Quidditch team. Same went for the teachers. It was different experience eating at the same table as the teachers. Ron found himself often glared at by Snape, although to Terence and Adrian it was clear the teacher was not so much glaring as exasperated by the young boy’s poor table manners.

At the end of the meal, the Slytherins stood up to go, all except Ron. However, Terence looked on him expectedly. Ron glanced over at Harry, who was deep in conversation with Percy about something or other that Ron failed to catch on to. The twins caught his eyes.

“Go on, Ronald, we will take care of your dear friend here. We will make sure he’s not left bored and sulking by himself,” George chuckled. 

“You go have fun in your hole in the ground,” Fred waved him off. Harry finally realized Ron was about to leave. He nodded at his friend.

“We will meet at breakfast tomorrow, right?” Harry assured his red-haired friend. Ron nodded, and, somewhat sadly, walked with his four housemates back to their dormitory. 

“So who should we sacrifice first?” Terence asked Gemma and Adrian conspiratorially where they walked ahead the two first years.

“I’m thinking the red-head,” Adrian stage whispered back, all three looked back. 

“Wha-what?” Ron asked wide-eyed.

“Nah, the Slytherin snake won’t want him, he’s too Weasley. I’m thinking the other one,” Gemma teased. Tracey laughed, making Ron realize they were just messing with them. He chuckled nervously. He liked his house, but sometimes he wondered about the horror stories Fred and George always told him about the Slytherin house. 

“How about we play a game instead?” Tracey giggled. Gemma glanced back, made an act of thinking hard.

“Hm… I guess that might be okay. What do you two like to play?” Gemma asked. 

“I like Chess,” Ron replied hesitantly, happy to have the teasing end. 

“I’ll be playing you on that one. Do you have your own pieces?” Terence asked. 

“Yes!” Ron said excitedly.

“Good, you’d better be ready for me to whip you.” Terence challenged. 

“More like you’d better be ready to be shown up by a first-year,” Ron proffered back. Ron was not all talk, either. Their first game Ron won within fifteen minutes. The other three Slytherins barely started their game of Exploding Snap when Ron excitedly yelled, “Checkmate,” at the top of his lungs. Terence stared wide-eyed at the board. 

“That was all luck. It had to be,” Terence assured himself, “Let’s play again.” This time it took only ten minutes. The other three curled over in laughter at the frustrated expression of the older boy. Ron felt a ring of pleasure rising up over the win. Chess was something he prided himself at being good at.

“Okay, okay, let’s take a break from this humiliation and join the others,” Terence insisted. Ron acquiesced, if only because he was on such a high. So they grabbed cards to join into the game the others played.

“How’d you get to be so good at Chess?” Gemma asked, her face showing her sincere interest. 

“I don’t know. I’ve always had a knack for it. It probably helped that it was the one thing I could beat my brothers at. It made me like playing it more and practice more,” Ron explained.

“You know, being good at something like chess used to be a commonplace trait for Slytherins,” Adrian piped in. This made Ron really happy for some reason he couldn’t quite place. Sometimes he wondered why he was placed in Slytherin, so perhaps it was just nice to hear he fit in.

“Well, I definitely didn’t get that trait apparently,” Terence laughed. 

“You’re good in other strategic ways, like Quidditch,” Adrian offered.

“Thanks, but that doesn’t heal the gaping wound I now have from being pummeled by a first year at chess,” everyone laughed as Terence put up his hand dramatically upon his heart. 

“Adrian, were your parents in Slytherin?” Ron asked, realizing he didn’t even know if Adrian’s parents were wizards even as the words fell impulsively from his mouth.

“My granddad was. It apparently sporadically runs in the family. About half of us are Slytherins and half of us are Ravenclaws. Which I guess is not too strange considering both houses value knowledge, just for different reasons.” Ron dwelled on that knowledge. He never thought of the houses sharing qualities before. They always seemed all so different. 

“What about you two? Family members in Slytherin?” Ron asked, curious about this tendency for houses to run in families. Terence politely nodded for Gemma to go first.

“One Slytherin parent. Although apparently there have been a little bit of everything down the line,” Gemma supplied, then looked to Terence to go on.

“No immediate Slytherins. My mum was a Gryffindor, same as my grandmother, while my grandfather was a Hufflepuff. So I was a bit of a surprise, same as you, Tracey,” Terence winked at the first-year who grinned back, happy for someone who understood. 

“No need to ask about your family, Ron, everyone knows what house Weasleys get into,” Gemma laughed, then quickly squeaked as one of her cards exploding. The group fell into laughter. 

Conversation about families and houses fell, as they fell to more easy topics like classes, Christmas memories, and the game itself. It occurred at one point to Ron how peculiar it was that out of four other Slytherins still at Hogwarts, three of them he knew to be half-bloods. Adrian, he failed to recognize, and suspected to be a half-blood as well. Ron wished Hermione was there at that moment, because she’d likely have some insight into the information that he didn’t. He vowed to mention it to Hermione, but by the time he fell asleep that night, he had forgotten all about it. 

***

The next morning, Ron woke up to loud noises. He halfway sat up when in rushed Adrian and Terence. 

“Hey, time to get up,” Adrian jumped onto Ron’s bed. 

“Presents downstairs, the girls are waiting,” Terence said whipping the blankets off Ron. Ron made a grumble, trying to gain some sense of what’s going on.

“Why don’t they just open them?” Ron mumbled, flipping his legs over the edge of the bed. Adrian laughed, jumping up and down on the bed like a kid, well, on Christmas morning.

“It’s a tradition in the Slytherin house if you’re here at Christmas, everyone opens presents together,” Terence informed him as Ron pulled on his robe and slippers. They trekked to the common room as a group. Ron’s jaw dropped at the sight he found in front of him. Overnight, the elves had decorated the whole common. The already green and silver color theme only looked more festive with red ribbon and ornaments. A small Christmas tree filled the room with the smell of evergreens. Candles covered the tree and common room, giving a glowing quality. Despite not being home or having his friends around, Ron felt at home in the common room with the four other Slytherins.

Terence sat down, glancing through the presents, then began handing each of the students a present. 

“Is this also tradition?” Ron asked Gemma as he eagerly grabbed for the present. In the Weasley household, everyone ripped open presents as soon as they were awake. It was considered mandatory to give everyone a head’s up, but there was none of this structure. 

“Yep. The oldest student is given the job of passing out presents,” Gemma too grabbed her present. All of them ripped their presents open, laughing with happiness and showing each other the gifts they received. Ron grimaced when he grabbed the soft gift from his mother. He knew what it was. Yet, he laughed aloud when he opened it. There in his hands was a green sweater with the Slytherin snake on it. 

“What’s that?” Tracey asked on the other side of Gemma. Ron blushed as he held it up. 

“It’s a sweater my mum made. She makes them every year. This is the first year mine hasn’t been red.” Ron grinned. Tracey widened her eyes at the explanations, Gemma looking over at the same time.

“That’s so sweet,” Tracey gushed.

“It’s so well made. Your mum is really talented,” Gemma said, running her hands over it. 

“Hey, guys, check out what Ron’s mum made for him,” Tracey said to catch the two other boys’ attention. All eyes were on him, voices gushing over the sweater he always took for granted. 

When they all separated to get dressed for breakfast, Ron proudly donned the sweater. The group of Slytherins walked to breakfast together, finding a similar table setup as before. Ron caught sight of Harry next to Fred and George, all three wearing a Weasley sweater. Harry wore red with a snitch on the front of it in yellow thread. Ron moved to sit next to Harry and was almost blocked by Gemma, who noticed him at the last moment, and scooted away from Harry so he could take the seat next to his friend.

“I see you got a Weasley sweater as well,” Tracey said with jealousy hinted in her tone, sitting down across from Harry. Harry grinned.

“Yeah, I was really surprised. I only met Mrs. Weasley briefly,” Harry told the Slytherin girl. “Thanks for the present, by the way, Ron!” Ron grinned, happy Hermione told him to buy his friend a present. 

Breakfast passed much as dinner the previous night, except for now Ron turned to the Slytherins as much as his brothers and Harry. As breakfast ended, Fred and George stood up with Harry. 

“Yo, Ron, you up for a snowball fight this afternoon?” Ron glanced away from the Slytherins he had just been talking with.

“Yeah,” and immediately Ron stood up to leave. Then he stopped and looked back at his new acquaintances. “Hey, you guys up for a snowball fight? Show some Gryffindors their place?” The Slytherins all glanced at Fred and George, who immediately put a devilish grin on their faces.

“Aw, Ron, you can’t really think that. You must not be getting enough air down in those dungeons,” George laughed. Then, without another word, the twins set off in a sprint to the front doors. Harry and Ron hesitated only a second before setting off after them, and the other Slytherins followed on their heels. 

***

The snowball fight lasted all afternoon. Percy joined them at one point as well as the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who stayed at Hogwarts over the holiday. Finally, exhausted and pink with the cold, they all trudged back inside. They all moved to part to their own dormitories before dinner to change out of their now soaking and cold clothes. Fred and George stopped Ron.

“Hey, before you go back to the dungeons.”

“We have something to show you.” Then they ushered Ron with them and Harry to the Gryffindor tower. 

“What is going on?” Ron asked, really confused. Fred and George shushed him and when they approached the fat lady portrait, they stopped right outside. They motioned for Harry to go ahead. Harry ran into the dormitory for only moments before he appeared in the doorway once again with a package in head. The four of them ducked into the nearest classroom. 

“Seriously, what is all this?” Ron asked urgently. Harry put the package on a desk and peeled back the simple paper covering it. A silvery fabric showed out. Ron looked around at the three, who said nothing, before he touched the fabric. He knew almost instantly what it was. He quickly picked it up, throwing it on himself. His body disappeared. 

“Where did you guys get this?” Ron whispered, eyes wide as baseballs. 

“I got it from someone who said it was my father’s,” Harry said, taking it back from Ron to repackage it. 

“We walked the first-year room to find Harry wearing it,” Fred informed Ron.

“Harry didn’t even know what it was, and we had to explain to him how rare a real invisibility cloak was,” George informed him.

“We made sure he hid it away from everyone else,” Fred assured Ron.

“Who gave it to you?” Ron asked, looking to his friend.

“No idea. They didn’t leave a name,” Harry said.

“Wow,” Ron replied, amazed. 

“You two know how lucky you are?” George asked.

“You can do so much with one of those on hand,” Fred added gleefully. Ron did appreciate the rarity of it. Harry only nodded. 

“This year just got so much better,” Ron told Harry. The boy grinned at his friend’s appreciation. It seemed like maybe Fred and George were just making noise before, but if Ron insisted it was a great thing to have, then it must be. They parted shortly after, so they could all change. 

***

The next day, Harry took Ron off to one side and whispered in his ear.

“I went out last night. I found a mirror.” Ron cocked his head, unable to comprehend what his friend was saying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: the scene which inspired this whole story and some speeding up of the book plot.


	10. Breaking Boundaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boundaries are broken. 
> 
> Then they are built again. 
> 
> Ron enjoys being Slytherin.
> 
> But he doesn't understand being Slytherin.

“You found a mirror? What does that mean?” Ron asked his friend. Harry glanced around. 

“I went out under the invisibility cloak. I was about to run into Filch and hide in an old classroom. I found this large mirror just standing there in the middle of the room. I went to look at it and there in the mirror was…” Harry hesitated, glancing at his friend, whose wide eyes willed him to continue, “my family. I know it was my family.”

“So…?” Ron really was not getting the big deal about this mirror. Why was Harry acting like it was such a secret?

“I’ve never seen them all. They all seemed so alive, like they are really right behind me.” Harry looked around once again. “I want you to come with me tonight. I want to see your whole family, too. Charlie and Bill, your aunts and uncles.” Ron still struggled to grasp what the big deal was, but he could tell that for whatever reason it meant a lot to Harry. So he shrugged.

“Sure. Do you want to meet outside the Slytherin common room with the cloak then?” Ron asked, thinking about getting to wander around after hours with the cloak. That got him excited.

“Yes. Midnight. I’ll come get you. Be ready. I don’t want to knock and draw any attention to myself,” Harry cautioned.

***

That night, after everyone fell asleep, Ron snuck out of his empty room, out of the empty common room, and to an empty hallway. Except the hallway wasn’t empty, a small hand touched him and a voice said his name. Ron tentatively stuck out his hand, his heart speeding just slight in anticipation with the subconscious thought- what if no one is there. But his fear split as his hand felt unseen fabric. He lifted it up to see the boy with spectacles staring at him with a devilish grin. With the help of his friend, Ron fixed the cloak over himself and back over his friend. Then they were off. 

Ron giggled as they walked past a window which mirrored an empty hallway. 

“This is so cool. We can go wherever we want and no one would ever know!” Ron whispered excitedly to the boy by his side. Harry grinned back at him.

“The twins were bouncing on the beds after they saw it.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t want to borrow it.”

“They drooled over it, definitely, and I offered. But they said no, it was mine,” Harry shrugged, not having thought much about it himself. He had only offered to be kind. That it was his father’s made it very special. He didn’t want to part with it and risk anything happening to it. Ron, however, thought this very curious behavior for the troublemaking twins, but he accepted it nonetheless. There was a reason for the twins to give up the chance to abuse this jewel, and without realizing it, Ron accepted it, as children do on occasion with siblings they look up to.

Meanwhile, the two boys arrived a doorway, and upon entering it, Ron found himself staring at an enormous mirror. Harry tore the cloak off of them as Ron gawked at the very size and ornateness of it. Harry began staring intently into it as they stood side-by-side in its reflection. He waited for it to change. Nothing happened. Ron waited as well and began considering the option that his best friend had gone daft. The unchanging mirror taunted them.

“So that’s a big mirror,” Ron tentatively proffered, hoping to illicit a response. 

“Hold on,” Harry stared at it for one more moment, then glanced at the two of them, “Stand here.” Harry then pulled Ron to the center of the frame and took himself completely out of it. Ron now stood in the exact place Harry stood the night before. Ron’s eyes almost immediately went wide in surprise. “Do you see them? Do you see your whole family in the frame?” Harry attempted to peek into the frame to see what Ron saw, but only Ron’s reflection stood in the glass.

“No…” Ron’s hands went up, as though to touch what was before him. “It’s just me. I’m holding the House Cup… and I’m Head Boy and the Captain of the Quidditch team!” 

“What?” Harry shot back, confused and staring back and forth between the mirror and his friend. Ron turned ever so slightly away from the view in front of him, leaving it only in his peripheral.

“Do you think it shows the future?” Ron asked eagerly, hope filling his face. Harry frowned dejectedly at his friend. 

“I don’t see how. My family is all dead,” Harry walked back into the frame, and Ron obliged and stepped out. Disappointment lay written across his face as his hopes of assured accomplishments disappeared. Harry watched as his family crowded around him in the mirror. Part of him had hoped that the mirror was a window to the afterlife. Ron’s reflection destroyed that hope. 

“Then what do you think it is?” Ron made a circle around the mirror, as though expecting to find some hint as to what it was sitting right there on it.

“I have no idea,” Harry broke himself quickly away, as though pulling off a band-aid. “We should get back. We don’t want Mrs. Norris to find us.” Harry grabbed the cloak that lay abandoned on the ground, once again one of the few connections he had to his parents. Ron could sense something was depressing his friend, but he wasn’t sure what. He thought Harry would be happy to see his family in the mirror. He certainly seemed excited enough this morning when he originally brought it up. Harry fixed them both under the cloak and began walking Ron back to his dorm. Ron tried to bring up his friend’s mood. When nothing seemed to work, he tried a different tactic.

“Whatever that mirror does, I don’t think it’s good,” Ron said. His words fell flat; a flimsy repeat of something his mother had said about unknown magic. Ron personally wanted desperately to go back to the mirror and stare into it, see if it would tell him exactly how to gain all those things he saw. That image within the mirror gave him hope. He would one day rise above his brothers’ accomplishments by gaining their awards and more. He so desperately wanted that to be his future.

***

Harry went back the next night and sat in front of the mirror. A silent room gave him comfort as he basked in the smiles of his family, love in their eyes. When Dumbledore spoke, he jumped up, having not noticed the Headmaster at all in his quest to see his family again. Seeing it was the Headmaster, Harry stared at his feet guiltily, readying himself for a scolding about being out past bedtime. 

“So have you discovered what this mirror shows, Harry?” the old Headmaster inquired, in that special way a teacher does when giving a lesson. Harry peeked up through his messy hair and glasses.

“Well, I see my family, and Ron sees himself with a bunch of awards,” Harry tentatively replied, still unsure if he was about to be in trouble. Then he kicked himself internally, when he realized he gave away that Ron had also snuck around with him. Yet something told Harry that the Headmaster knew about his previous adventures in this room and might have stopped him the first night if he had wanted to. 

“Yes, and what is the similarity between the two?” Harry considered this question a moment.

“Well… It’s both something we want a lot… I want my family to be alive and Ron wants to be the best at stuff.”  
“Exactly. It is both of your deepest desires. It comes to no surprise, in particular, with Mr. Weasley fell into the Slytherin house as opposed to his family’s history in Gryffindor, when you know that his deepest desire is to rise above his brother’s achievements. So to with your deepest desire. You have bravely faced every day without your family by your side, and you would do quite a bit to have them back…” the elderly man almost seemed to be talking to himself as he said this. Harry was afraid to speak, worried he was interrupting a thought. The man finally looked back at his student with the scar upon his forehead.

“After tonight, this mirror will be moved to a new home. It would do you well not to go looking for it. It is not good for one to dwell on their desires. Desires can destroy a man, especially when that desire appears within his reach. I would caution you to warn Mr. Weasley as well.” Dumbledore waited for Harry to nod in assent. “Now, head along to bed. It is long past when you are to be in bed.” Dumbledore turned his attention to the mirror. Harry slowly picked up the cloak and headed back to the doorway.

“Professor?” Harry said, turning back. 

“Yes?” 

“What do you see when you look in the mirror?”

***

Harry intended to tell Ron about his trip, but he forgot all about it when he and the twins were just about to enter the Great Hall and found themselves immediately covered in snow. Through the pummel of snowballs headed their way from the large doors to the outside, Ron and his fellow Slytherins laughed behind a wall of snow they had built to sneak attack the Gryffindors. The twins shared a look, then turned to Harry. 

“Ready, Harry?” One of them asked in the flurry of snow coming inside the building. Harry nodded, only guessing what they meant. The twins took off toward the outside and the Slytherins, Harry shortly on their tails. The snowball fight that ensued and the threatening words thrown around drew the attention of those in the Great Hall. As such, since everyone but the two groups were inside eating breakfast, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape both stood up. They, of course, would have rather gone alone, but neither trusted fair treatment of their students. So without a word, the two went to investigate the source of the disruption. The other professors exchanged glances, but not wanting to cause the other students to become witnesses and encourage whatever troublemaking was occurring, held themselves in their seats- despite their desire to find out what it was. If Slytherins and Gryffindors were involved, it was surely not good. 

When both Snape and McGonagall stood atop the steps to the main entrance, the Slytherins, who faced the doorway, immediately stopped in their tracks. Ron, including, but more from the reactions of his peers then from his own inclination. The Gryffindors threw a handful more snowballs before realizing the fight was one-sided. They turned slowly around, hoping it wasn’t just Snape. They were only slightly happier to see both professors. 

“Good morning, Professors,” Gemma greeted with a guilty smile. The other Slytherins parroted these words. Except Ron, who didn’t catch on until it was too late. Fred and George’s guilt faces melted at this reaction. 

“Top of the mornin’ to ya, Gov’!” Fred yelled, throwing some snow up. 

“Would you like to take part in our early morning exercises, Professors?” George added cheekily, holding a snowball in his hands. The professors shared a glance, unspoken words sped between them like lightning bolts. Gryffindors and Slytherins had brawled for as long as they both remembered. They were made speechless at the sight before them. The two houses playing harmlessly together. No one wore a jinx upon them. No one was shooting blame at the other. McGonagall let a breath out that she had been holding in readying herself for a gruesome fight. 

“Before breakfast, you will all clean out this entrance way. Without magic, in case you had any ideas,” Professor McGonagall finally admonished the group after a long silence. Snape turned back and left without a word. McGonagall supervised the giggly teenagers who swept and mopped the snow away. Another fight almost broke out when Adrian swept some slug at George playfully when he stood in the way. Only a small cough from McGonagall stopped Fred from retaliating. Once the hall was cleaned, the eight students trudged into the Great Hall. The other students only gave them a fleeting glance but the professors gazed much longer. Since Snape only told them the noise had been a “snowball fight,” they had no idea it had involved the rival houses. The snow covered students fell upon the table, laughing and recollecting the fight’s greatest moments. The table fell back to a normal pace, except for the uneasy tension of those unable to comprehend the sudden comradery between the rivals. The meal went on like usual. 

After breakfast, all of the students were invited by Fred and George to aid in building a snow castle for them to rule over. Besides the Ravenclaws who opted out, the other three houses eagerly banded together for the task. This plan quickly dissolved into another snowball fight due to a dispute about whether Fred and George would really rule over their snow castle. The snowball fight eventually turned into them burying the three first-years available in the snow (at which point Percy and the Hufflepuffs decided to go warm up inside). By the time a fortress was again being built, it neared noon and a paper airplane flew down to settle in front of Terence. Terence looked upon it as though expecting it and unfolded it to read the writing upon it. He swept his eyes across the page before waving the other Slytherins over, out of immediate earshot of the Gryffindors. Ron trudged over, hoping that the secretive behavior meant another snowball fight. 

“Professor Snape has invited us to lunch in his office shortly. We need to go change now if we want to make it in time.” The three older Slytherins nodded, but Ron looked back at his brothers and Harry who happily padded snow into place. They had all already started moving back towards the castle when Ron spoke up.

“Uh… I think I’m going to pass on that. It’s not very often we can play in the snow and not have homework. I’m going to just stay out here.” Ron told his peers. They exchanged glances. Tracey looked perhaps more perplexed as she appeared to wonder if she could skip out of the meeting as well. Terence’s next words appeared to make her change her mind about questioning it.

“It’s a great kindness that Professor Snape takes the time to have things like this for us. It is impolite to not go,” Terence said, almost deadpan, a straight lipped frown cutting across his face. Ron shifted from foot to foot.

“He’s not exactly kind to people like Harry who didn’t do anything to him, so I don’t really see why I need to be nice to him,” Ron looked nervously at all the faces in front of him. Terence only appeared angrier, but Gemma touched the seventh year’s arm.

“It’s fine. He’ll come to appreciate it in his own time. Let him make his own mistakes.” Gemma said softly. Ron’s face rose to a bright red. He looked at the other faces, hoping to find someone to back him among his house. Adrian merely shook his head, as though disappointed, and Tracey avoided his glance altogether, feeling the pressure of the others on her. They then all turned and left. Harry came up behind him.

“Where’d they all go?” Harry asked confused. 

“To suck up to Snape,” Ron spit with disgust. 

“Figures they are all kissing his butt on break. Probably go and clip his toenails for him,” Fred quipped. 

“Or add more grease to his hair,” George added, both boys laughing at their own jokes.

“Or sorting through his dirt collections,” Fred yelled louder.

“Or making potions just so his office stinks the way he likes it,” George yelled even louder. This went on for some time, each boy trying to find a new disgusting job for the Slytherins. Harry and Ron laughed along, but Ron felt his laugh a little empty.

Harry seemed to appreciate that Ron skipped out on lunch with Snape and was particularly happy that afternoon as they lounged around inside the building keeping warm. 

That evening when Ron went back to his room however, the upbeat feeling he had while with Harry dropped. A tension filled the common room as he entered it. Everyone ignored him, and he stomped off to his room. When classes started back up the next day, it was as though Christmas and the snowball fights had never happened. Slytherins and Gryffindors were back to their rivalry. The professors weren’t sure if they were relieved to have their safety of sameness back or sad to see such potential die so quickly for a reason they would never know. 

Ron went back to spending time with Blaise and the Gryffindors, but he could not quite shake that tension he felt when he was surrounded by Slytherins once again. He had enjoyed himself so much. It was as though he lost something before he really had a chance to appreciate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I simply had fun with the broken boundaries between houses here, I also felt the need to include the scene that inspired this fic in the first place. 
> 
> I'm sure I bastardized the scene with the Mirror of Erised; I just had to include it. This scene made me question whether Ron should have been in Gryffindor throughout the rest of the books. So I needed to replicate it, but since I didn't want to copy and paste (as tempting as that is) I wanted to take the opportunity to really focus on some different aspects of the scene. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading and let me know if there's any scenes in the book you really want to see. I'm going to speed up here soon, because I am not inspired to alter much of the rest of the book. Plus, I'm excited to watch Ron deal with the Chamber of Secrets! 
> 
> To come soon: Quidditch, Saving Norbert, and fighting Quirrell.


	11. Fighting Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron is bad at knowing when to stop. 
> 
> Neville throws a mean right punch, though.
> 
> Draco is usually pretty good but...
> 
> Ron really kind of started it.

Quidditch was a topic which led to a lot of contradictory statements within the Gryffindor/Slytherin friends. On one hand, all of them wanted Harry to win the snitch in every game. On the other, they both (except Hermione who couldn’t care less) wanted their team to win. They managed past the Gryffindor/Slytherin game without incident, if only because Ron and Blaise could easily believe their team would win against the newbie. When Gryffindor did win with Harry catching the snitch, Ron and Blaise couldn’t be unhappy at the talent their friend exhibited. 

However, now that they knew their friend was good, Ron, especially, found his competitive spirit firing up in a dangerous way. He loved Quidditch after all and it played into whether they would win the House Cup as well. He needed his house to win both. Harry handled it well. He had plenty of practice with ill-meaning hecklers, and his friends surely didn’t intend him any harm. 

The closer the game came to Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, the more Ron gave Harry a hard time. Hermione always tried to distract them- she was still more interested in Nicholas Flamel and the Philosopher’s Stone. But Ron was ruthless. Neville tried to fire back comebacks, but he usually failed so miserably that eventually Harry just told him he didn’t need to. 

With the Quidditch game just around the corner, Ron was walking with Slytherin first years to class when he got an idea. This was the path which usually put them directly against the Gryffindor first years. He ran in front and swiveled around stopping them all. Draco in particular found this offensive as he normally led the group flanked by Greg and Vince. 

“What are you doing, Ron?” Draco snapped, trying to step around him.

“I just got a great idea,” Ron said ignoring him. “Everyone needs to start gagging when Harry passes, and screaming for him to not try too hard to choke on the next snitch he catches.” Draco immediately grinned. It was not a great insult, but he appreciated the chance to give the black haired boy a hard time. Ron stayed around him too much for Draco to really give the snot his due. The rest of the Slytherins agreed, not necessarily because they hated Harry, but because they hated Gryffindors. Blaise grinned along with them. He enjoyed Ron’s heckling and competitive edge. They had that in common. The last thing he needed was Hermione shoving it in their face that Gryffindors won. 

So they all went back to walking until Draco started gagging, which was the cue for the rest of them that Harry was in sight. The Gryffindors glared at the Slytherins as the shouted out at the scarred boy. Hermione, in particular, looked aggressively annoyed. Harry himself just stuck up his nose. 

“At least I can catch a snitch unlike your seeker,” Harry shot back. Ron brushed to the front. 

“All luck, Harry, all luck. I guarantee even Hufflepuffs prancing across the field can beat you,” Ron teased as they walked away from each other.

“Don’t be jealous just because I’m on a Quidditch team and you aren’t!” Harry yelled as he turned the corner. Ron’s face went red. Pansy and Daphne began giggling, holding each other up.

“He told you, Ron,” Pansy squeaked. Draco glanced back.

“You have a crush on Potter, Pansy? Didn’t know half-bloods were your type,” Draco snapped, unappreciative of anyone laughing at something Potter said. Pansy quickly shut up.

“Oh, shut up, Draco. I didn’t hear you coming up with a better comeback. You let Ron do all the talking. You scared of what he could say to you?” Daphne snapped back. The two stared at one another a moment as they walked. Then they turned up their heads and didn’t say another word to one another. Ron glanced at Blaise for some answer to what just happened, to which Blaise simply shrugged. Just petty jealousies, was all. Ron ignored it entirely, coming up with new things to tell his Slytherin peers to do whenever they saw Harry. This was how the Slytherins came to gag and throw out all sorts of insulting suggests to Harry about how to catch the snitch. Some of the worst involved the use of his butt, which Ron found hilarious and Hermione deemed childish. The upperclassmen caught on as well and began following suit. Although their insults were usually more elaborate and hurtful. Harry took it all in strides, although he got more and more agitated by the constant heckling. 

Finally, the day of the game came. Harry was nervous about the game and had begun believing that maybe the first game had been just luck. Neville tried to cheer him up, but Harry couldn’t listen to his friend. Ron and Blaise started walking over to give Harry a hard time at breakfast. Harry saw them coming and quickly excused himself to go get ready before the game. Hermione jerked around to glare as they walked over. Neville nervously avoided their gazes, knowing what Hermione had been saying about them the last couple days to Harry. 

“You are so mean! Why don’t you ever learn? It’s one thing to bully me, but Harry is your best friend, Ron! And, Blaise, you have more sense than this! Seriously, just put aside your stupid games,” Hermione scolded then pleaded. Ron stopped in front of her, affronted at the application. Blaise stared with a lazy look away. He knew this soon to be coming.

“What are you on about? Harry has thrown back all sorts of crap at us and the Slytherins,” Ron responded defiantly.

“Because you always start it. Harry is competitive and a little teasing is fine, but you have all of Slytherin giving him trouble, Ron,” Hermione explained impatiently. Ron looked over at this table who stood animated in laughter and excitement at the upcoming match. Ron’s face drained of color.

“I didn’t think he cared. I thought he knew I was joking,” Ron replied, staring at his shoes.

“He does, but he also knows the rest of them aren’t,” Hermione pressed. Ron and Hermione held eye contact a moment, because Ron broke it nervously. 

“Okay,” Then he scurried off, Blaise giving Hermione and Neville a slight wave before running after him. 

Ron led Blaise straight to the Quidditch pitch. Ron refused to say anything; Blaise didn’t feel the need to. They saw Tracey, Millicent, and Theodore sitting nearby a bundle of older Gryffindors who were saying something to them. Ron didn’t get a chance to hear what they were saying, as the Gryffindors saw him and quickly turned around. The three Slytherins looked relieved and happy to see Ron, which was not always the case. 

“Hey,” Ron muttered, still lost in his own thoughts of shame.

“What were you talking to the Gryffindors about?” Blaise wondered. He understood a little bit more of what happened when Ron was away but only from his mother’s stories. The three first years looked awkwardly back and forth, going between themselves and the back of the Gryffindors’ heads. 

“Nothing, bit of confusion is all. Thought we were someone else,” Millicent finally said. Blaise cocked his head in suspicion, but he didn’t press the matter. More and more students were filing in. 

“You guys should help us cheer on Harry during this game,” Ron suddenly said, turning to his three peers. All three looked aghast back at him.

“We can cheer him on ourselves,” Blaise said, not wanting Ron to get into a fight with their housemates. Ron shook his head.

“No, because then he won’t hear us. We need a lot of people. Besides, no one wants Hufflepuff to win. How lame would that be?” Ron retorted.

“I want Hufflepuff to win. It will ensure our house still has a chance at the Quidditch Cup,” Theodore piped up. Millicent and Tracey nodded in agreement.

“Oh, c’mon. We have been giving him such a hard time all week. The least we can do is cheer him on. Don’t be gits.” They ignored the red-head, irritated at his very suggestion. “Fine. I’ll come up with my own cheer.” Then he turned to Blaise for a cheer that Harry would be sure to hear. Blaise merely shrugged. Hermione and Neville appeared behind them at that point. 

“Snape is referring the game,” Hermione whispered in Ron’s ear. Ron jerked back, knocking Neville in the face with his head. 

“Oww…” Neville said, rubbing his nose. 

“Oh, you’ll be fine. How could this happen? Who would let this happen?” Ron asked quickly. 

“I don’t know, I just found out. I’m going to go down closer to the pitch and make sure I have a shot at Snape if I need to,” Hermione whispered back.

“Do you want my help?” Ron offered.

“No, I need you to stay up here and keep watch for any other suspicious activity.” Then Hermione disappeared in a flurry of students. Neville moved to sit beside them while Blaise and Ron exchanged a worried glances. Draco, Vince, and Greg took the seats Hermione and Neville only moments ago had occupied. 

“So how long should we bet Potter lasts, boys?” Draco sneers as the game begins. Ron turns around to face him.

“Shut your face, Draco. Harry’s got more talent in one pinky then you have in your whole body,” Ron snapped. Neville and Blaise copied the motion

“I’m sure. If Dumbledore didn’t play favorites with the Gryffindors, Potter wouldn’t even be on the team. It’s rubbish. Potter is simply a golden boy. He has yet to actually catch a snitch that I’ve seen in any legal way.” Draco fired back lazily. 

“That’s why the Gryffindors won the game, right? Because Harry cheated. Tell yourself whatever you need to in order to get some sleep at night.” 

“You should watch yourself, Weasley. You sound like a traitor to your own house.” 

“Well, rather traitor than sore loser.”

“It’s not losing. It’s just playing the game. You were only just making fun of Potter yourself earlier. What changed your mind? Did your ticket to the boy-who-lived party wind up in the trash because Potter’s feelings were hurt?” 

“Shut. Up. Malfoy.” 

“Make me, Weasley.” Before Ron could swing his fist, Neville swung his. Ron quickly jumped in as Vince and Greg dove in to grab Neville. Blaise stepped back for a moment, hands up. Ron beat back Vince and Greg only to get hit by Draco. Ron then turned to face Draco as Vince and Greg once again turned on Neville. Blaise sighed, looked at the Gryffindor third years who had stood up at Draco’s words, ready to hex him into oblivion. They now stood bewildered at the sight of the Slytherin aiding the clumsy Gryffindor in a fight. Blaise then stepped in and grab Vince, so it was at least an even fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of fluffiness while I try to figure out how to tie up the ending of Book 1. A lot of not learning from mistakes in the past, but hey, they are all only 11.


	12. Losing Points

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron still hates Draco.
> 
> The Gryffindor-Slytherin friends have a dragon to deal with.
> 
> Draco tries to repay Ron and Neville for the punch.

The crowds around the boys cheered, and the fight stalled as the six boys attempted to figure out what happened. Ron saw Harry standing on the ground of the Quidditch pitch, snitch in hand. Ron let go of Draco to begin cheering. Draco, Vince, and Greg took the distraction to dip away before a second attack was taken on them. Neville stood wobbly on his feet. Blaise suffered a few bruises himself; Ron wiped some blood off his lip but otherwise remained unscathed. If he gained something from growing up as the youngest of five brothers, it was his ability to fight. 

Hermione came running up to them and skidded to a stop at the sight of them. 

“What happened to you three?” She asked with a mix of concern and disapproval. 

“We beat up Draco, Vince, and Greg!” Neville proudly exclaimed, even as he stumbled because of his injuries. 

“You look horrible, Neville. You should really go to the Hospital Wing to get looked at,” Hermione determined. She then turned to Ron and Blaise. Ron stared blankly, not knowing what she wanted.

“I’ll take him there,” Blaise finally said after a moment’s silence. Hermione grinned. 

“Good,” then she turned to Neville, “Neville, we’ll come visit after we find Harry.” Blaise put one arm around Neville to aid him in the walk back to the Hospital Wing. The two boys nodded and began their walk back. Hermione studied Ron. “Are you okay? Do you need to go too?” Ron swiftly shook his head. 

“No, I’m fine. I gave Draco a whipping,” Ron bragged. Hermione scoffed and turned back towards the pitch. She began making her way down without another word. 

“How did the fight even start?” Hermione asked, squinting out to find Harry’s shape. 

“He was just being a git. Neville beat me to the first punch. He probably wouldn’t look so bad but both Vince and Greg went for him at once. Neville got in some good hits though. All three of them went running off the second Harry caught the snitch.” Ron rambled, prideful of his win for his friends. He only briefly glanced around for his friend.

“Did you see Harry’s catch? It was amazing?” Ron blushed at the question. “You didn’t see?” 

“Harry will understand!” Ron defended himself. He didn’t get a chance to see if Harry cared, because when they finally found Harry on their walk back to the castle, Harry had his own information to provide. He insisted on meeting with the other two boys first. 

“Where are they anyways?” Harry asked, looking around the school grounds as though they must be near. 

“They had to go to the Hospital Wing, because Neville got hurt from fighting Crabbe and Goyle,” Hermione said before Ron could bring his own skew on the story. He gave her a disapproving look, to which she replied in kind. Harry’s eyes, meanwhile, went wide. 

“What? Neville fought those big goons?” Harry asked, as Hermione was already starting to walk back towards the castle. 

“Yes. He also apparently punched Malfoy,” Hermione jumped in again, as the two boys began following her. 

“Draco was saying some stupid stuff, so Neville hit him. Vince and Crabbe then jumped him, and I jumped Draco. Blaise then ran into help Neville. It was brilliant, Harry.” Ron finally butted in before Hermione could tell the tale with her spin on it. Harry demanded all the details, so Ron gave them to him, with a flourish of his own part in it. By the time the three friends made it to the Hospital Wing, Neville and Blaise were just exiting. Harry clapped his friends on the shoulders upon the sight of them.

“Great job beating up those idiots!” Harry said excitedly. Blaise shushed him.

“Quiet down. We told Madam Pomfrey that Neville got fell down the moving staircase and took a bad tumble. I don’t think she believed us in the first place, but she at least gave him the benefit of the doubt.” Blaise ushered them all away from the door and glanced back to assure the healing witch did not appear behind them.

“I do hurt myself a lot. Madam Pomfrey is used to seeing me under for silly reasons,” Neville said quietly. 

“Well, it is lucky you do, because we would’ve both lost points otherwise,” Blaise assured him. Neville smiled at that, happy to be of us. 

“Harry, you had something you were going to tell us,” Hermione encouraged their friend, changing the subject. She wanted desperately to scold all of them for risking so much, even if Malfoy deserved a good punch. Harry took the opportunity as they all slowly walked towards the Great Hall for lunch to quietly inform them of the sight he saw with Snape and Quirrell. His four friends gasped and barely held back a million questions as Harry retold what he saw in the Forbidden Forest after the game. Everyone began talking over once another as soon as Harry quieted.

“I knew it! I knew Snape was bad-“ Ron immediately started. The group neared the Great Hall.

“Are you sure he wasn’t just trying to-“ Blaise started, still skeptical of any bad information about his Head of House.

“What are we going to do-“ Neville asked, utterly panicked at this new information.

“We need to talk to Hagrid.” Hermione announced even as the boys attempted to say more over one another. They all looked to her. 

“Hermione’s right. Hagrid can help.” Harry seconded, and no one dared refute either one of them. So they entered the Great Hall, looking to the head table for Hagrid. A large empty spot sat where the half-giant normally filled in space. 

“Where is he?” Neville squeaked. 

“He must be skipping lunch. Everyone who works at Hogwarts sometimes eat in their own rooms. Hagrid’s probably eating lunch in his hut.” Hermione stated, clearly abhorred at having to state the obvious to Neville. Neville blushed, and Hermione immediately gave him an apologetic look. 

“Well, let’s go!” Ron turned to go back out. Hermione stopped him. 

“Now that we are here, we might as well eat. It will look strange if we all come storming in, only to rush immediately out. We don’t want anyone suspicious of us.” Blaise stopped his friend. Mostly to try to have time to make his own argument up about why the man who was always so kind to his house wasn’t guilty of the crimes Harry accused him of. The other part of it, Blaise’s stomach lacked the nutrients it needed. Ron glanced at the food on the tables and quickly changed his course. 

“We will meet right after lunch,” Ron said, leaving without another word. Hermione assented with Blaise’s decision leaving Harry and Neville with no other option but to agree. For all Blaise’s warning not to cause suspicious, when Ron inhaled his food and Blaise followed in a very un-Blaise-like means, the group arose more suspicious by not leaving right away. The time they spent eating also gave one angry boy time to come up with a plan to repay the group for the bruise now blackening his eye. 

Ron and Blaise hurried over to the Gryffindor table, where they impatiently stood waiting for Hermione to eat with some civility. Finally, they all rushed out of the Great Hall, ran across the lawn, and Harry stood knocking on Hagrid’s door before any of them knew it. 

Hagrid opened up to stare wide-eyed at the group. He welcomed them in, and as soon as they entered, they nearly started talking at once. As Hagrid tried to assure them Snape was not a bad guy, Blaise quickly agreed with everything Hagrid said. 

“Why would he try to get ahold of something he helped protect?” Blaise repeated after Hagrid. Hagrid looked upon the Slytherin with fondness. When they discovered the dragon’s egg, Neville looked ready to sprint as far away from the hut as possible. 

Then it started hatching. What occurred after that seemed to go too fast for any of them to clearly recollect the order later. Neville caught sight of the face outside the window first. The blonde hair disappeared before they could figure it out. Plans were quickly laid for saving Norbert.

On the walk back, the question arose whether Draco might tell anyone of Hagrid.

“It’ll hurt Slytherin house as much as it will hurt Gryffindors; I can’t imagine he’d risk Slytherin losing points,” Blaise tried to reason. 

“He’d bloody well not tell. Me and Neville will take care of him, won’t we,” Ron wrapped his arm around Neville, who simply muttered assent.   
“This is no laughing matter. You need to send your brother an owl now.” Hermione nagged, and she continued to nag until she watched as the owl was sent off. Ron scowled the whole time, but both returned for dinner. Draco, Greg, and Vince sat muttering together. 

It felt as though barely any time passed before Ron received a letter back. His brother confirmed the astronomy tower and midnight in the letter. That morning, Ron and Blaise whispered to their friends before setting off on their own to Hagrid’s hut. They failed to notice Draco following them once again. Their Gryffindor friends noticed, however, and tracked after the unwelcome Slytherin. Meanwhile, the two Slytherin boys knocked on Hagrid’s hut and was quickly let in to the sound of breaking furniture. Norbert already grew a sizable amount in just a little bit of time. Ron quickly launched into the plan. Ron used his hands to talk, putting his hand into easy access to his hand. The dragon eyed the hand and reached out to take a bite. Just then a broomstick smacked his nose. Ron and Hagrid stopped to look at Blaise. 

“He was about to bite Ron,” Blaise explained, setting the broom back in its place.

“Oh, bad Norbert!,” Hagrid pulled Norbert back; Norbert attempted to bite Hagrid in the meantime. Ron was about to make a snarky remark back, but then they heard a disruption outside. Ron and Blaise stuck their head out the front door to see Neville and Harry each holding one of Draco’s arms while Hermione poked her wand towards him. Ron stormed out.

“What is going on?” Ron demanded, his own wand out, despite his lack of any spells to really cause any harm.

“Malfoy thought he’d follow you out here,” Harry shouted to him. Ron’s eyes sparked with anger. Draco squirmed almost imperceptibly. 

“It’s not against the rules to go out on the Hogwarts lawn. It’s a free world,” Draco snipped back nervously. Nearby, Hagrid’s hut made sounds of crashing. If the group saw inside, they’d see a baby dragon wreaking havoc. Which left the group without supervision, meaning Ron’s latest idea might be played out. 

“Hermione, what spells do you know that could teach Draco a lesson,” Ron asked her, still staring down Draco. Hermione’s expression quickly shifted to panic as she quickly looked back and forth the two boys. 

“We can’t, Ron! It’s against the rules!” Ron jerked his head to her. 

“Do you want him to keep following us around all the time?” He warned her. 

“Hermione is right, Ron! Draco’ll tell who did it,” Neville said. 

“Blaise,” Ron turned to his friend standing behind him. Blaise wore his usual stoic expression. He slowly looked from Ron to Draco. His hand rose without a word.

“Plumis capitis,” A yellow light flew from his wand to Draco’s hair, where suddenly burst a bunch of color feathers. Neville and Harry let the boy go as he grasped at his head, where feathers shed even as more burst out. Draco scrambled up to the front steps, holding his hair in his hands, cursing them as he tripped up the last step. 

“Where did you learn that?” Hermione asked, the only one not laughing. Still, the girl cracked a half smile even as she tried to frown.

“I saw one of my uncles do it to the other one at Christmas after they had a few drinks,” Blaise said through the laughter, “I’m honestly surprised it worked.” 

As the group calmed down, they went back to confirm the plans with Hagrid. That night, Harry and Hermione readied to leave. Neville, it was unanimously decided, was to stay behind since they were already skeptical about whether Nobert plus Harry and Hermione would fit beneath the cloak. Blaise and Ron, meanwhile, decided to stay behind to assure Draco didn’t try anything. They hadn’t seen him the rest of the day, but none of them could assure he hadn’t heard their plans.

So when Ron and Blaise arrived in their dormitory and saw Draco’s blonde hair back to normal and in bed already, they felt reassured. However, they chose to stay awake just in case anyways. Their suspicions came to fruition when a little before midnight, a small shape came creeping from the dormitory towards the outer door of the common room. Ron and Blaise both peaked over the backs of the couches they lay on at the sound of footsteps. As Draco made to step out of the doorway, both boys grabbed ahold of him. Draco found himself on his backside, staring up at his two assailants. The next few minutes were a blur as Draco found himself disrobed and left in just his pants tied to one of the columns standing in the common room. His hair once again found itself shedding feathers. 

Blaise and Ron slept peacefully that night until loud noises coming from the common room the next morning. They ran out to a group of eyes turning towards them. The common room floated with colorful feathers. 

“What is this about?” Gemma yelled from the center of the group. People spread so she stared through an aisle at the two boys. Ron’s eyes and mouth widened. He thought the Slytherin house would find the scene humorous. Blaise knew better; he prepared for this response.

“He tried to get us and our friends into trouble. We could hardly let him get away with it,” Blaise replied nonchalantly. 

“This little rivalry has gone on too long,” Gemma growled. She gripped the newly restored Draco, who stared ruefully at his two enemies. Apparently someone new the counter spell to Blaise’s spell. “Both of you, with me.” Then she headed for the hallway. When neither of them moved, she turned back towards them. “Now or it will be a lot worse.” They saw from her face she meant it. So, still in their pajamas, the two Slytherin first-years maneuvered the Dungeons until they stood in front of Snape’s office. Still holding onto Draco’s arm, who was beginning to look incredibly more nervous every second, she used her free hand to knock on the door. A disgruntled looking Slytherin Head of House answered the door. Professor Snape, as Gemma knew, hated mornings, so this likely meant pain for all three boys. 

“Professor Snape, I found Draco here tied up with a headful of feathers this morning. He informed me as I helped put him back to normal that Ron and Blaise left him that way. Ron and Blaise lead me to believe Draco antagonized them first. Whatever the story, this is not the first time they have received warnings about getting along.” Gemma reported dutifully. Professor Snape widened his doorway and regretfully ordered the three boys. He thanked the Prefect and turned to the boys.

“Professor-“ Draco began. Snape quickly put his hand out. 

“I do not care what you have to say. I would expect more from you, Mr. Malfoy, seeing your family’s history with the Slytherin house.” Professor Snape started. “But apparently all of you need to have the obvious stated: Slytherin house unity is important.” He paused for emphasis. Ron used the chance to speak up. 

“Professor, we didn’t do anything to start this. Draco was the one who kept being a prat.” He said before Snape could stop him. 

“Silence.” The professor sternly ordered. The tone left no place for argument. “First off, you should not harm the people who can help you in the future. If you all truly belong in Slytherin as the Sorting Hat believed, and he is never wrong, then you should be very concerned with who can get you further in life. There is no reason to make unnecessary enemies, especially with people who can understand your ambition best. I do not care who started this animosity, but I will be the one to end it. I do not care if you hate each other one the inside; you will respect each other. I do not take fighting within my house. Have I made myself clear?” All three boys nodded. “Use your words.” 

“Yes, Sir,” they all chirped, silently expressing thanks that nothing worse than a lecture occurred. These thanks were premature. 

“Good. Now, 25 from all of you.” 

“No!”

“Professor!”

“You can’t!” 

“I certainly can and will. Let this serve as a reminder of how very serious I am.” Professor Snape opened the door. Ron opened his mouth to protest more, but Blaise hit him. Draco led the way out the door. When Snape closed his door behind them, Draco finally let his feelings be known.

“I hope Hagrid and that bloody dragon were worth 75 points,” Draco turned to look at them, “I will make sure everyone within the Slytherin house knows that you are the reason for this.” Then he stormed off. He wasn’t joking either, by the end of the day, everyone one within the house glared at Ron and Blaise. This hardly led to any real action, as the Slytherins followed their Head of House’s words and believed in house unity. House unity hardly meant they had to like their house members; it only meant they had to back them in the end. 

When Blaise and Ron met with their Gryffindor friends, they found an even more depressing sight. 

***

The previous night, Harry and Hermione’s plans went perfectly until they ascended the steps of the Astronomy tower without the cloak in hand. There they stared straight into the face of Filch. They were immediately marched to their Head of House’s office where they found Neville sitting with his head hung in shame. Professor McGonagall moments before listened somewhat sympathetically to Neville’s story of how he accidentally got locked out of the dormitory.

Which was exactly what happened. Neville stayed up late waiting for his friends to return triumphantly when he thought he heard something outside the Portrait hole. In reality, he fell asleep temporarily and the beginnings of a dream mingled with his half-asleep state. He opened the porthole to assure no one was out there. He couldn’t properly see though, so he stepped outside, glancing down both sides of the hall. As he stared in the dark nervously, the portrait swung closed. When he turned back, he found the Fat Lady missing from her picture. The poor boy panicked, but he eventually calmed himself by reassuring that Harry and Hermione would know what to do when they returned. So he settled down outside the portrait to wait. However, as soon as he sat down, Mrs. Norris appeared, followed soon by Filch. Filch escorted the now crying first-year to Professor McGonagall’s office. Filch didn’t believe the first-years’ predicament. However, his head of house knew his tendency for disaster, so she was prone to believe him. Until she saw the two other students. 

“Three students out of bed?” McGonagall yelled, before any of them could get a word in edgewise. “You can leave now, Mr. Filch, thank you.” She paced before them.

“Professor, we can explain,” Hermione tried to say, but she had no idea what Neville told her already. His face puffed with old tears.

“Miss Granger, I don’t care for any excuses. You all know the rules. Mr. Longbottom, that includes you.” Professor McGonagall snapped.

“But-“ Neville started.

“You’ve said enough. I might have believed you had your friends not appeared on the other side of the castle. I find it very hard to believe considering how close you three are that it is simply a consequence you are out as well. Unacceptable.” Professor McGonagall repositioned her glasses which went askew in her furious gesturing. “I hope this has nothing to do with the report I received that you were spreading rumors that you had a dragon to certain students. Students that   
also blamed you for jinxes put on them, mind you.”   
“Malfoy is a liar!” Harry protested, realizing his slip up as soon as it happened.

“Well, I can hardly accept this type of behavior from my students. I’m disappointed in all of you. Fifty points from each of you.” The three student’s mouths made dark Os. 

“Professor, no! That gets rid of all of the points I won at the Quidditch match!” Harry protested. 

“You should have thought about that before.”

“Professor, please, this is-“ 

“That’s enough, Miss Granger. You all will also serve a detention. I hope you think about this next time you think to spread absurd rumors, jinx your fellow students, and go around after hours.” With that she dismissed them. 150 points from Gryffindor.

***

As the word crawled around about who caused the loss of points, the three Gryffindors found themselves shunned by their peers. Exams near for all the houses, and the three troublemaking Gryffindors received their detention slips. Ron lamented that he too didn’t get to join them in the Forbidden Forest. 

“It’s detention, Ron, why would you want a detention?” Hermione asked dubiously. He scoffed.

“We are never allowed to go into the Forbidden Forest. This may be my only chance!” Ron insisted. He considered just going with them anyways, but at the last minute, the annoyances of his four friends stopped him. They were all angry that he wanted this as though it was a treat. So the three trekked down on their own. Harry and Hermione split to one direction with Fang, and Neville went with Hagrid in the other. What they saw and what Harry learned, lead to what was to come. Soon, Harry would overhear Quirrell, and it would nearly lead to his death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me a lot longer then some of the other chapters to write because I just didn't know where I wanted to go with it. I knew I needed to talk about it, but then I was unhappy with following canon (which is what I did for the most part in my first writing of it). I actually ended up almost completely rewriting it.
> 
> Honestly, if I could've skipped this part completely, I probably would have. But I wanted to set some stuff up for the next chapter. But hey!
> 
> Next chapter will be the last chapter set in Book 1!!! I'm have some renewed interest in this story with the chance to write about book two! So much anti-Slytherin sentiment, so much hostility with Draco!
> 
> Let me know if there are any characters you want me to bring into the story! I'm open any suggestions- and as always, let me know if there is a scene you really want to see! Coming up in the next chapter, some anti-Snape sentiments, the final battle scene through Ron's eyes, and the end of year banquet!

**Author's Note:**

> I can't bring myself to continue this story. I just don't know where I want to go or how to keep myself interested anymore. If you really love this story, comment and comment and comment again. I will continue reviewing comments and can only imagine continuing if someone expresses interest in the story.


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